an inquisitors tale
by Hannah Leanne
Summary: Evelyn was nothing more than a street urchin, a youthful rogue who was due to her own vengeful business brought her to Haven. a victim of fate can brought this assassin in training to become the Herald of an upstart organisation: the inquisition. it is her story though Thedas as she struggles to come to grips with her new title, purpose and colleagues. slow burn romance and gore.


**DISCLAIMER** : the story, characters, dialogue and about everything about this body of work was taken directly from the game _dragon age inquisition_. And so, all credit should rightfully go to Bioware and their amazing creative writers. This is merely a love story to the game and franchise.

This was really fun to write would love feedback. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

This almost killed me

I was kneeling, my head hurt like something chronic. As if something had hit me. This wasn't too surprising, it wouldn't have been the first time I would have woken up to a head ache like this. Only this was a lot worse. My head was heavy, my thoughts unable to form a proper train of thought. I just hurt. My knees hurt too, though I couldn't bring myself to move. Every time I shifted my weight my throbbing head was twinge and I would come to instantly regret this sudden move. I groaned, giving into the need to move after all. I needed to ease the pressure from my knees. I was still half asleep, I didn't want to wake to whatever I was experiencing. I was already getting the impression that it wasn't going to be quite what I wanted. though even this somewhat peaceful rest was brought to an immediate halt. A siring, burning pain blazed to life from the centre of my left palm. The pain flaring up though my nerves. I opened my eyes yelping slightly. I was awake and in a cell. Small beads of sweat were dripping round me face. I looked around, trying to regain my cool. The room was cold, that made sense. I was in the mountains, in Haven. I remembered that. I needed to remember more. Though just like before, my thoughts remained a mess. Jumbled up tracks of partially formed thoughts were all I could muster. I looked around me. The cell was really nothing overly special, a stone room. No light, it was kind of damp. Well…it wouldn't have been the first time I had been a prisoner. Though usually I had some idea as to why I was actually in a prison. And this was somewhat different. There were no bars (spear from the ones on the only door out of the room) and I was chained to the floor. The menials which held me in place were tight, thick and heavy. My arms felt so weak I couldn't see myself being able to even try and raise my hands any higher than where they were resting on my lap. Escape was going to be difficult. I could see that the lock which was used to incarcerate me were fairly standard. Haven wasn't known for having any kind of high security after all. the lock on the door would most likely not be anything of any note either. The only thing keeping me to the floor was my own inability to move myself. my legs didn't seem to want to me, and so the remained numb folded under my weight. And then there was the pain which was pulsing down my arm, all coming from my throbbing left hand. I stared down at my cuffed hand, moving it round. This was when I actually noticed it. The light which was emitting form my palm, the eerie emerald green glow which split across the centre of my palm. The crevasse within my own flesh seemed to be opening up, the strange light seeping out in the place of blood or bone. At that another, more intense surge of pain shit through this fracture in my palm, causing the light to burst from my body in a series of explosive crackling bursts. I gritted my teeth through the main, though my voice was still trembling out as the pain took control of my vocal cords.

At this the door to the cell burst open, my cry of pain summoning two women, the first, and more aggressive of the two stormed over to me. She was wearing a heavy metal armour, so she was a soldier, or a warrior. The crest of a Seeker painted across her chest. The white eye encircled in flames was well known all around Orlais (and I was sure other kingdoms as well though I hadn't really traveled far enough to know). She was a strong looking woman, and that was not merely because she looked angry. She was clearly a very dangerous and intimidating figure. The Seekers were known to be very dedicated and at time vicious. They were after all the ones who kept the Templars in check. The had fierce eyes, widened by a fiery anger which at first scared the shit out of me (I just hoped that it didn't show), she almost looked wild. As if someone let a hungry panther into the room with me.

"tell me why we shouldn't kill you now! Everyone in the conclave is dead, except for you!" he snarled at me. I stared up at her for a moment. People were dead? This was the first I had heard of it. The statement was confusing, not helped by her accusing tone. Time and time I gain I was blamed for some tragedy or crime. That was nothing new. But I to add murder to the list? That was new, and insulting. I wasn't about to make matters worse by arguing. I would just wait till they left and then I would work on my escape. My senses were back to by, well…they were enough for me to begin to form a plan. I fixed my gaze at the woman. Her nostrils flared down at me as she waited for a response. Though there was none I could give. I stared back at her. My expression resolute. She was not going to get anything out of me (not that I had anything to give in the first place, it really made no sense for a seeker to be after me). However, my silence did not seem to pacify the woman. She lunged for me, grabbing my throbbing left hand, raising it to my face, thrusting it under my nose as if I hadn't noticed the alien light emitting form my own body.

"Explain this." She hissed, as she did the light form my hand crackled into the air, more sharp shots of pain shot up my arm. My arm them falling limply in front of me. This was unnerving. All this was wrong.

"I can't" my voice was weak, panic claiming me as I staring down at my palm, the light fading to a dull glow again. However, there was no time to recover, or even inspect the strangeness of my palm. The Seeker was relentless.

"what do you mean you can't?" she spat at me. Her impatience getting to her. She looked as if she was about to pounce on me at any moment unless I started giving her answers. I felt like growling, swearing. All of this was really fucked up. Nothing made any sense and what was worse was that I couldn't remember how I came to be trapped in a cell, or why I was now the subject of this interrogation and this woman's rage.

"I don't know what this is _or_ how it got there!" I snapped shaking my hand slightly. My palm gave a little crack from the open wound as if in protest, though that was all.

"you're lying!" the woman bared back, rounding on me once more. She moved in on me, arm beginning to raise as if to attack.

"we need her Cassandra." The other woman spoke up. About time too. Someone needed to control the rabid dog. The Seeker look back to the other woman. This woman was a lot more put together. Though from my own experience that did not mean that they were necessarily the nice ones. And this one looked far from comforting. She was more put together, her appearance more manicured, meticulous in the fastening of her armour and the cut of her hair. Nothing was out of place. I looked up to her, as if to begin my evaluation of her. Though her own pale eyes were staring down at me, the rest of her face cast in shadow as her hood obscured most of her visage. She was glaring down at me, her expression full of distain. She was not here to be my friend, to buddy up to me to gather information-that didn't seem to be her style. Though her words did seem to walk the Seeker down. Cassandra, that would have to be Lady Cassandra? The seeker who served closely to the Divine Justinia? I had enough of my sense about me to know that that meant that I was in some deep and very serious shit. Whatever happened here was nothing that I wanted to be a part of.

"Let me go." I hissed. My voice becoming stronger once more. "whatever you think I did, I'm innocent." Foolish words I have used before, in similar positions. Though this time I was one hundred percent honest, or at least I believed so. And that was the most truthful I think I had ever been. The other woman took over now, moving forward. She moved silently, even in full length chain mail. This woman was defiantly more intimidating. Her face came to light, I knew this woman too. Liliana- the left hand of the Divine. She was known to be rather heartless, and a spy. Defiantly one to fear. I sat up straight. She wanted information from me. From reputation, she was not one to leave without getting what she wanted.

"do you remember what happened? How things began?" she asked, her tone contrary to what I knew. It was damn near pleasant. I took in a deep breath. This was where my mind was actually failing me. I remembered so little. Though there was something there, though it was almost as if the memories weren't mine. It was as if I had been looking at someone else move through my body…no not moving. Running. I had woken in somewhere, dark, it was a terrible place, far worse that the cell I had just woken in. the sound of screeches egged me onto running faster, to escape, to just get the hell away from whatever was behind me. I clawed up gravel and earth, scrambling hurriedly to run away. I was charging as fast as I could up a steep slope, I didn't know just how long I had been running, trying to get away from what I only knew was certain doom, yet it was all hopeless. I was losing my footing every step of the way. Whatever was coming up from behind me was going to catch me and I would be gone. Yet I wasn't. something else happened. On top of the slope, there was something, someone…a light? Someone in the light? That was what it had seemed, or was the person the light? The memories were not coming to me freely. A hand was offered to me. I took it.

"I remember running." I began, my words a clear as I could manage. As if saying it slowly would make it sound better, or at least make it make sense "they were chasing me and then…a woman?" I frowned, trying to decipher the image in my mind.

"a woman?" Lilliana asked, a note of surprise in her voice

"she reached out to me and then…" I racked the mind for more information. Though there was nothing more. That was all I knew. I growled in frustration slumping back on my knees. Cassandra look Lilliana's arm, taking her to the side and closer to the door. The only way out of here.

"go to the forward camp Lilliana. I will take her to the rift." She instructed. The spy simple nodded. I stared down at my hand, a little distracted. Why couldn't I remember? It was such a frustrating feeling…something which was so intimately mine was not there. Something which would solve all this chaos, the key to my understanding was gone. I looked back up to the woman. Only now the Seeker was the only one in the cell with me.

"what did happen?" I asked, a little more hopeful, or maybe just more compliant than I was before. Cassandra knelt down to me, a key in her hand. She kept my hands in their menials, though she freed me from my bonds to the floor.

"it would be easier to show you." She told me, her voice heavy. She helped lift me to my feet, which I was actually thankful for. I wasn't sure if my legs were fully working. though as she led me outside I seemed to manage despite of how numb my limbs were.

We strode out from my cell, the guards which were past the door did not make any more to stop me or the seeker as we moved on to the outer world. I shielded my eyes we I stepped out into daylight. The sun was blinding, it never gets any easier- moving from the damp cells and into the light of day. It always hurt. There was nowhere to hide, not even from the sky. The cutting air of the mountainous landscape hit me, I held my breath, as if this would ease the chill which ran down my spine. Though it was more than these surroundings which were making me uncomfortable. I could feel the eyes of voiceless people on me as I moved into the open. I didn't like it. I moved my hands away from my face. And I could now see just what was really blinding me, for it was not the sun. above me, hanging ominously against the show leaden clouds at the highest point of Haven was a mass of green light. It was massive, it looked over the mountain settlement, a chasm of foreboding green light which spilled into this reality, staining the gentleness of the mountains and the snow. It bled into the purity of the untouched now, casting a green dye over all. all around a thunderous eruption could be heard crackling and spitting out as the light pulsed and throbbed just as the light on my hand did. They were one and the same.

"we call it a Breach, a massive rift into the world of demons which grows larger with every passing hour." Cassandra moved in front of me, her eyes cast up to the Breach. "it's not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave" her tone was gave, though her voice was clear. She was explaining this as calmly as she could muster. Though as she turned to me I could see her pleading eyes. This was really some serious shit. I was not just some little spat going on. This was some world altering shit. My mouth was dry. I swallowed looking form her to the sky. It was hard to believe, but it was all there in front of me. This was real.

"an explosion can do that?" I asked, clearing my throat. This was truly crazy. Cassandra moved closer to me again. Her eyes not straying from mine.

"this one did. Unless we close the Breach, it will grow until it swallows the world." She said just as gravely as he explained what that monstrous hope in the heavens was. As if it knew it was being talked about the breach erupted, a loud rumbling exposing sound which shook the world. Or at least it shook me, as it did so the rip on my own hand began to splutter out its own shocks of green bolts. I dropped to the floor as it felt as it the light in my palm pulled at every nerve I had in my arm. Tearing apart the very matter of my flesh and blood. It felt as if it was boiling, or freezing. My hand wanted to clenched light, to dig into itself and pull away the pain which was spreading from the core of my hand. I didn't realize I was crying out in pain till the pain had lessened and I was on the floor clasping my hand. Cassandra move to me, getting to my level to explain.

"each time the breach expands your mark spreads- and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time left." She was now defiantly pleading with me. It was beginning to sway me, this was bigger than jumping on some holding cell, bigger than anything I had ever been part of. I bit my lip. There was too much going on.

"you still think I'm guilty?" I asked, a little hesitant. I was pretty sure if I chose not to skip out on all this I would defiantly be hunted down or killed on sight, body hung up or burnt- something like that. I was getting the mob feeling from all the onlookers around us. "you think that I did this? To myself?" I raised my burning hand. My voice quivered slightly. Cassandra turned her eyes to mine, calmly and spoke.

"not intentionally, something clearly went wrong." She said honestly. I felt like crying out _for goodness sake. How can a person rip a new one in the fucking sky?_ But I couldn't. I wasn't even a mage, and that thing up there was certainly magical, it certainly wasn't natural.

"and if I'm not responsible?" I asked, trying to turn my tone to a polite, casual tone. One that didn't sound as if they had had it with everything.

"someone is, and you are our only suspect. You wish to prove your innocents, this is the only way." She finished.

I nodded. Still holding my hand as the echo if it throbbing shook my body. It was all too clear, I couldn't just run away. This was going to be difficult, nothing was ever simple. Nothing. It was sods law that I was going to have to claw my way out of this mess or it would literally be digging my own grave. Not to mention Cassandra had said that thing would "swallow the world" and that most definitely did not sound pleasant. If I wanted to make it out of this alive I had to at least clear my name. but then what? The breach would still be there and the world would end? That didn't seem like much of an option. I didn't like the feeling of being doomed. I would have to help, I was being forced to anyway. The least I could do was going in gracefully…or at least not get dragged in by the hair (I had a feeling Cassandra might do that if I tried to fight her on this).

"I understand." I sighed. "I'll do what I can. Whatever it takes." I muttered, no decision clear. I was in it now. No backing out. team close the breach…I was going to regret the decision if I lived. But Cassandra looked relived, almost warm and welcoming. She helped me to my feet again and began to lead the way away from the settlement. The gazes of the civilians around us were still staring daggers into me. They hated my guts, I felt as if I hadn't even been given the chance to let them hate me. Almost as if I had missed out on the fun and all of the consequences of a mad party were just put on me. It was more than a little awkward. I turned my eyes forward, unable to meet those of the beaten and bruised people around me.

"they have decided your guilt." Cassandra informed me. "they need it. The people of Haven morn our most holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The conclave was hers. It was the chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together, now they are dead. We lash out like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves-as she did, until the breach is sealed." She explained as we walked away from the masses of injured and angry people. I was getting the blame for it all, the explosion which had opened the breach and caused so much destruction. The rifts opening and killing so many people. With no other reason or meaning other than me having survived the initial blast. They were thinking me a murderer, and of no one other than the Divine Justina…yet more shit thrown my way. Whether or not I made it out of this this was really fucked with my life. No one was going to want to touch me with a mile-long staff.

"you will get a trial, I can promise no more." Cassandra told me as we moved across a bridge. She had a freed me of the cuffs securing my hands together. Though this gesture was merely for practicality, I was far from being trusted. We were moving on anyway. At the other end of the gate the path was blocked, sealed off by a solid wooden gate. I rolled my eyes. She was not comforting me. The people around me wanted blood. If there was to be a trial, I would not be coming out of it with my lift. We moved, now with more haste to the gate. We were now rushing, she had mentioned that we were running out of time.

"where are you taking me?" I asked, trying to put the trial to the back of my mind. first, I get the proof that I was innocent, seal the Breach and them skip town before anyone mentions the word trial again.

"your mark must be tested on something smaller than the breach." We reached the gate, two guards eyeing me wearily. "open the gate, we are heading into the Valley." She commanded and the obeyed with no question.

We powered on ahead. We began to set out, in the search for one of these smaller rifts Cassandra had mentioned, as far as I could tell it was to see if I could actually be of some use. Though I was yet to see how, hopefully my hand could suck them up or something? I would have believed that, anything seemed possible at the moment. We had barely made it out of the settlement when the light on my hand surged again, causing my legs to cave in from under my weight. The pain was growing more intense every time this shit happened. I was on the ground wincing, holding my hand, angrily cursing at the dirt. Cassandra came from behind me, raising me up, almost sympathetically. It was a little touching really. She clearly didn't trust me, but she was still helping. Who would have thought, the Seeker was beginning to seem like such a softy? Still, my hand was the bigger problem. If the small blasts erupting form the breach was causing me to losing my cool like that, there was no way that I could have lived through a full-on explosion, one large enough to tear up half of the mountain.

"how did I survive the blast." I asked curiously as we moved on again.

"they say you stepped out of the rift and fell unconscious. They say a woman was behind you. No one known who she was. Everything farther in the valley was laid waist, including the temple of sacred ashes. I suppose you'll see soon enough." She said heavily. That in itself was a lot to take in. a person who had fallen out of a rift. I would have thought that anything, anyone to have coming form that thing would have been a demon, I certainly would have trusted them. Killed them before they got a chance to wake up. I guess I got off lucky after all. but it meant that I surfaced after the explosion. I guess that was how I survived, I was in one of those rifts, whatever was on the other side of them when the eruption was going on. I could recall the hazy memories of the other world I had ran in. the memories of running and then the figure of the glowing woman reaching out to me…it was still too confusing.

We had reached another bridge, and just as lift could not run smoothly, apparently, I couldn't even cross a bridge without fucking it up. Out of nowhere, before I could reach the safety of the other side what I could only guess was some form of debris propelled by the Breach was catapulted directly to Cassandra and myself. it made a direct his to the bridge causing it to shatter from under my feet and the Seeker and I fell. I felt so heavy, as if I was one of the boulders which was once part of the construction of the bridge that my feet were once on. I was rolling, tumbling down the wreckage alone side the seeker who was just as quickly hurtling towards the frozen stream below. I braced for the impact, tucking my head to role. I was used to falls like this. Though I told myself that I would try to avoid them, I was not at the leisure to keep that promise to myself. it seemed as if all hell as breaking loose. I hit the ice below, though it this was not where my problems ended. No, this was where the fun really began. Cassandra was already on her feet. Her hand on her sword. For a moment, I was thinking that she was going to try and fight me. But she was not even looking at me. There was something else far more important to take care of. something was pulling themselves up from the ice, a living smoke consuming the space around them as they materialized into a full form. I was only looking at the one in front of me as it began to heave its large ill-formed body into place. Looking at it, seeing as now I knew that the Breach was more of less a door way into a world full of Demons…and now these strange creatures were now standing before me…it meant that this was a demon. I had never seen a demon before, I had only heard of them, or seen pictures of them in books that would be talking about the blight. Strange sadistic and murderous entities which would come from tears in the world to fuck everything up. And now…I was staring one in the face…. something which vaguely resembled a face. It looked like a bubbling construction of raw exposed muscles and tar. A mixture I never wanted to ever witness seeing, yet here it was. Yet in that mess there was defiantly a face, peering one from a tattered hood was a ghoulish image, large pale eyes bulging out form the monsters barely formed skull. It was looking down at me, and it let out a blood curdling wail. pulling its mouth open, the stained skin coating it shifting form was growing across its mouth. As it screamed lunging towards me it pulled on these strands of living tissues. Dispute its crudely shaped body, it moved quite fast. It was already on top of me, a large, strong arm hurdling down to me with no hesitation. I dived out of the way, or at least I threw myself to the side.

I landed close to a pile of wreckage which had followed Cassandra and myself down to the frozen stream as the breach destroyed the bridge. Supplies were spilled out across the ice, and I almost felt lucky. I stared around at the sullies, desperately looking for something which could help. Hell, I would start throwing bricks at the creature if it got any closer. A sword, thrown under the rubble nearby. I grasped at its hilt and heaved. Only it didn't move. it was too heavy, clearly some great sword my puny arms were not strong enough to hold let alone swing over my head. That or the stones if was half buried under were pinning it to the ice. Either way this was not the weapon for me.

"shit." I cursed looking back to the demon who was hot on my trailed. He swooped closer to me, lashing out with a fist full of sharp knife like claws. I ducked, dropping to the ground once more and scrambling out of the way. I needed to attack back or I would die. I clenched my teeth staring round for something lighter, something not trapped under a fuck tone of stones. And it was as if the maker had delivered an answer, where I had scrambled away to get away from the demon were a pair of sheathed daggers. Nothing fancy, nothing as nice as to what I was used to. But they would do. I grabbed one quickly preparing myself. but the demon was clearly not going to give me a chance. he lunged at me again. I turned, jumping away from his reach. I only held one dagger, the other was still on the ground…right at the demon's feet. I wanted that dagger. I gripped my lone dagger in my hand, the light glowing on my palm not causing me any discomfort as I clenched my dagger tightly. I felt better with a weapon, more in control. The demon still looked like a nightmare, no, more than that- it looked like the embodiment of fear and hate and disease all tied into an angry little package. But I was done running and avoid it all. I was angry too, and I did not like being the victim. I was the one to attack now. I ran forwards, slicing across the demon's chest. I wasn't sure what would hurt a demon. To make sure that it wouldn't ever come back to bite me in the ass. But one hit was definitely not going to be enough. And it was still standing over my other dagger. I gritted my teeth. I was going to have to attack this thing head on if anything was going to come from this little scrap. I dived down to the demon's feet. My hand outstretched to grab my dagger. And I reached it, wrapping my fingers around the hilt. I pulled, victorious in my attempts to retrieve my weapon. Only the demon was still standing on its blade. Unable to throw off its hulking weight I was just crouching below a demon. There was only one thing left to do; to attack viciously with my free dagger. And that was what I did. I stabbed again and again up at the demon. Not caring as to where I was stabbing, just as long as I was connecting with the thing over me. It screeched and wailed till, just as how it came into this reality, it sank to the floor and melted away to the strange smoke it was birthed from. I breathed a sigh of relief standing again, two twin daggers firmly in my grasp. I had somehow managed to win that. It was not my most graceful fight ever but I was not complaining. It would not have passed if I was back at home. But out here, it was fine. I came out victorious, alive, and that was what mattered. I looked to Cassandra, unable to truly forget her presents only to see she was still in battle with a demon. Her great sword digging into the demon she was parrying with. I could have run. It was certainly on my mind. and surly no one would blame me. This was all kind of fucked up. This entire situation was so messed up I had no words to just how truly screwed I was, how everyone and thing was. But I had already come to the conclusion that this was not a situation I could run away form. This was something which unless dealt with would bite me in the ass. I needed to at least try stabbing the Beach to death before turning tail. I held my daggers up, ready to jump into action once more. I was going to help out. I charged over to Cassandra and the demon, leaping into action. My daggers sinking into its back. No sooner had this happened did it wail in pain. Sinking back. It's hands moving to claw at me and where my daggers had struck it. But it was dying, sinking to the ground. I looking up to Cassandra, a smile playing on my lips. We had won! A little victory sure, but a win done the less.

"it's over." I sighed, very relieved to have made it out of this with not even a scratch. It was a bloody miracle.

My happiness did not seem to transfer across over to Cassandra. She was scowling at me, her eyes glaring into mine, her sword still readied.

"drop your weapons. Now!" she commanded. A voice of a soldier, one who was not to be fucked with. She had just made quick work of a demon, and look a hundred times more bad-ass that I had while doing it. I did not want to even try and test my skill against this woman's. She was certainly stronger than I was. She was fighting with a giant great sword and wasn't even breaking a sweat. The was older than me, a woman in her prime. My guess was she was in her 30's that was at least one more decade of dutiful and hard training over me. She was known for her strength and rigidity in and out of battle. I didn't know much about the right hand of the divine, but I knew that she was not to be screwed around with. I didn't want to part with my weapons. It was definitely not a safe environment. My armor was not sufficient and I was not about to become dead weight around here while she ran around playing hero…but she was the one in charge. I was still her prisoner. So, I would play the part, for not at least.

"alright, have it your way." I forced the words out of my mouth. My hands shaking as I lowered them to my sides. I had just helped her after all, I wasn't expecting much gratitude…but I bit would have been nice. Or as least a little bit more trust after having helped her out.

"wait, I cannot protect you." Cassandra stopped me before I could throw my blades to the grounds. I looked back to her, her eyes a little less fierce than they had been before. "and I cannot expect you to be defenseless. I should remember you agreed to come willingly." She added, she certainly seemed a lot softer now. It was nice, as if she was praising me for not being a stubborn idiot. And I was very grateful, sincerely so. She was the one who would have my back out here, and it felt as if I was beginning to finally get some trust. Score one for the possible divine murder. Though as nice as these warm fuzzy feelings were, we did not have time to stand on ceremony. We had to press on. The giant green light in the sky did not look any better than it had looked before. We had just fought actual demons. And the sounds of fighting were still everywhere, even if from where we were all was somewhat calm.

"where are all your soldiers?" I asked, a little paranoid that I hadn't see anyone else for a while.

"out there fighting, we are on our own- for now." Cassandra answered bluntly. Of cause they were, or at least that was the hope. There was surly a lot more demons out there.

There were move demons alone the path we chose. It seemed as if everywhere we turned there wold only be more of them ready to claw at whoever was foolish or unlucky enough to stumble upon then. In this case, it was just my luck. We also passed bodies, only a few unfortunates who probably got caught in the blast or more likely and less fortunately came face to face with a demon.

"Demons up ahead- if we flank them we should gain the advantage." Cassandra warned we as we marched on. There were only two of them. And I was not about to storm ahead of her in the forsaken valley. It was not worth my life to try and battle though it alone. But I was not about to try and be smart while racking up a body count down here. I simply flung myself into the battles, doing the best I could to remain a float. I wasn't even sure I knew what she meant by flanking. But as the demons fall she seemed to be satisfied calling "dead!" and we left them where they fell. Not looking back for a second. It was relentless. Even when we knocked many down there were always more. The pulsing light in the sky spewing out demons as if they were rain.

"they're falling from the Breach!" I noted, trying to make more sense of it all, even if it was only in my mind. it just reaffirmed the mission. We needed to close that thing or we would never see the end of this demon hoard. Cassandra also perked up. Having pulled her sword from a demon she just executed.

"we're getting close to the rift. You can hear them fighting." He told me, taking the lead to charge up a set of snow covered stone steps. We were finally off the river, but I wasn't too sure that I was glad of this. The further up the mountain the closer we got to the Breach.

"who's fighting?" I asked, hoping that she would say that a group of her troops were sent up here and now we would really have back up.

"you'll see soon." She called back to me as she now led the way. We made it to the top of the stairs and she was right. Now I could see who we were meeting. Two men were standing before a small tear in the air. A rift, it was just like the Breach, only smaller, and crawling with demons. The men were fighting. One a mage, the other holding a crossbow. Though they were outnumbered. "We must help them." Cassandra told me, her tone more pleading. She was right. And I could not say no to a right anyway. I readied my blades and picked up my pace.

I charged in, taking huge leaps at the demons, both my daggers dragging deeply into them. The noise was unbearable. I wanted to shield my ears, but then I would sadly lose my blades. And I was not about to do something as silly as to let go of any weapon. This fight was over quickly. No sooner and Cassandra and myself joined the fray had it all ended. It seemed as if the two men were more capable that we had believed. I mean they were out here battling beside an actual rift. But as the last demon fell the mage moved to me. Grabbing my left hand.

"quickly! Before more come through." He shouted over the crackling of the rift before us. He pulled me closer to the light. I actually thought he was going to attempt to throw me into the light. His grip on my wrist was strong. Stronger than I would have thought form an Elf none the less. He took my hand and pushed it against the rift. It was hot. A very strange feeling. Unlike when the growing of the rift caused me sharp, sudden pain. This was a different kind. I did not, as I had thought, sucked the rift into my palm. It wasn't anything like that. As the light on my palm touched the light of the rift my entire arm began to burn. Every nerve ending in my hand reached out to the light, threatening to be pulled from my body. And then, the light form my hand, the nerve endings that were dangerously close from being pulled form my arm began to merge with the rift in a blazing green light. It was flaring out of control, pressing against my face as if to burn me. but that was not happening. As I kept my hand by the rift, light flew from my palm, a thread stitching up the rip in reality and the light of the rift began to close. It shrank away till, as if to make one more attempt to fight back. It surged, throwing me back. But the rift was gone. Closer. I stood staring at my palm. I was not in pain, or at least I was still on my feet. I looked back to the mage, he was smiling.

"what did you do?" I asked, my hand still held up. I was a little scared to move it.

"I did nothing." He admitted. Her warm almond eyes smiling back at me. "the credit is yours." He bowed his head slightly to me. I blinked, a little taken aback. Something had gone right. It was only a small something but it was something none the less. I really didn't know how to take it.

"you mean the mark?" I asked raising my hand to him. I needed this to make sense. "this?" I gestured to the light still radiating from my palm. That hadn't gone away. It was still there, a reminder of the shit I had been going through today. He man nodded. He was looking down at me, he was a tall, slender man his hand gripped around his wooden staff as he observed me.

"whatever magic in that mark on your hand, I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the breaches wake" he said moving closer, his eyes flitting down to my hand. Magic was to blame for all this after all. I was looking at me palm, a little terrified by it now. "and it seems I was correct." The mage finished, a small smirk playing on his lips. Cassandra stepped forward, her expression lit up with a new hopefulness I hadn't seen previously.

"meaning it could also close the breach itself." She exclaimed. She was looking to the mage for answers. And really so was I, he was the one who sounded as if he could actually give me useful information. No one else around here had a clue about what was going on. But now it made a little more sense, the idea what this mark on my hand was some kind of key- it must have come from this guy. He had the idea that I could close the breach. Why? Maybe because they looked as if they were formed form the same kind of power, marked by the green light. His theory paid off. He was right. I could now be useful, it was a step closer to clearing my name and getting the hell out of here.

"possibly." Solace continued in answer to Cassandra. He looked back to me. "it seems you hold the key to our salvation."

"good to know!" the other man pipped up. He was standing a little further away from the rest of us. A dwarf, he was holding his crossbow, carefully setting it back onto his back. "here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." He looked to me, moving a little closer. "Varric Tethras: Rouge, storyteller, and occasional unwelcome tag-a-long." He gave me a wink. It was the most relaxing introduction I had heard since waking up. Cassandra clearly didn't seem as settle as I was by hearing him. She was scowling, looking upon the Dwarf with more anger or disgust. Strange since we came up here to help save his life. I cleared my throat. Introductions were a welcome break form demon slaying.

"you're with the Chantry?" I asked politely. This only seemed to get a reaction form the mage, he chuckled to himself, apparently, what I had asked was rather stupid.

"was that I serious question?" the mage asked, the notion of the Dwarf being part of the chantry was apparently quite a funny one, though was it truly that strange? Everyone else around here was after all. Cassandra and Lilliana being the only other people I had met up to this point. Varric shook his head, deliberately not looking over to the Seeker.

"technically I'm a prisoner, just like you." Varric explained. He did have the humility about it to look a little sheepish about it. But before he could explain any further Cassandra burst out

"I brought you here to tell your story to the divine." She spat at Varric. There was some story I was not aware of going on here. Though I was not about to start trying to get into yet more trouble. Whatever Varric's crimes were, I'm sure he could take care if it by himself. Cassandra didn't seem to like the dwarf at any rate, regardless of him fighting at her side only moments before for she continued. "Clearly that is no longer necessary" she finished gravely. It must have been another reminder that the Divine was gone.

"yet here I am." Varric smirked at the Seeker. "Lucky for you considering current events." he swaggered up to the woman. He was certainly a brave man. But he was right, I was for damn sure thankful he was here with the crossbow. Another ally was certainly a welcome one.

"it's good to meet you Varric." I offered my hand out to him. A greeting he received, shaking my hand warmly. These men gave me the better reception, seeing as the duo that had greeted me before was Cassandra and Lilliana in a prison cell.

"you may reconsider that stance. In time." The mage warned me. with all his joking aside I couldn't help but feel a slither of truth behind his words. The sentiment may be true of myself if he truly believed that. I knew another rogue when I saw one. It was possible that Varric had seen just as many prison cells as I had, certainly more. He was quite a bit older than myself, he was defiantly older than Cassandra. His face showed a few more signs of age which were more telling that a few laughter lines or battle scars. He was in simple leathers, light enough to make quick getaways if need be. He, much like Lilliana had fair ginger hair, similar to my own, though unlike the spy's his was course, chopped a little more roughly. he turned his exasperated gaze over to the mage.

"aww, I'm sure we'll become great friends in this valley, Chuckles." Varric gave a smile to the mage, and I was defiantly sure that he was being a little cruel there. They didn't seem as the best of friends, didn't seem the type to even want friend (that went for both of them). I wasn't sure we would even make it through all this chaos at this rate anyway. Who cared if we were going to be friends or not? Cassandra seemed to be in the same mind set. She was heading head first up to Varric.

"absolutely not." She declared, her tone unyielding. She certainly didn't want to be friends with our rouge friend. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…"

"have you been in the Valley lately, Seeker?" he cut her off. "your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." he shouted at the woman, glaring at her with just as much intent as she was to him. She was the one to break, turning in disgust away from the dwarf. She paced away from us, clearly clearing her head. She couldn't not deny the situation we were in. these were desperate times. I wasn't going to be the one to start turning away perfectly capable help. He certainly looked strong. He surly would have no issues swinging around a great sword, though I didn't think that he would be willing to part with his crossbow. He was guarding it closely. Never putting it down. And I could see why. It was certainly a beautiful weapon.

The Mage then turned to me, seeing as we weren't about to start moving still Cassandra had cooled off a little.

"my name is Solace, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live." He greeted me. though the words came out warmly, there was a strange oddity to them. It came with the phrase "still live." That wasn't a normal phrase. No _hi, nice to meet you._ Or even _nice to see the demons hadn't got you_. That would have also been acceptable. But no. his words were chilling. I didn't quite know how to react to them.

"he means: I kept that mark from killing you while you slept." Varric helped translate, clearly seeing that I was slightly disturbed by Solaces wording. I looked back to the mage. He had been looking after me. after so many people had wanted me dead, it was kind of touching. Though he could have easily slit my throat, he could have. Why didn't he? Anyone else would have had no issue with offing me. so why? Well the answer was staring me right in the face. The mark on my hand. It was a tool, a means to an end. Keep me alive and you keep the tool you need to close the hell mouth hanging over your head. So that was it. It was all too obvious. All the niceties and the warmth, it was an act to keep me here, to keep me compelled to fight for the cause. Well…he may be genuine. But seeing as everyone else hated me, I couldn't see why he should be any different. But still, at this point in time I too needed the mark, it had magic in it that I knew nothing about. I didn't know shit about magic. I fought with knives, daggers, twin swords, give me a staff and I'll just run along hitting people with it. So, a mage, someone who knew what was going on would actually be quite welcome.

"you know about the mark? I mean you seem to know a great deal about it all…" I asked, honestly curious. He was smiling at me, a true smile. He had a kind face, so different to the red-faced humans I had encountered up in Haven. He was bold, this just made his pointed ears stand out even more. He was just as tall as he was, though he may have inched over me. he screamed serenity, from the crystals from his staff to the humble attire of this robes. There was posturing about him that I had come to know from any circle mages that I had come to meet. He was enveloped by an other-worldly feel. Almost the opposite of Varric, he was so down to earth, but Solace was so…airy. I couldn't put my finger on it. But this appraisal of his character was cut off by Cassandra.

"Solace is an apostate." She informed me, as if this was relevant information. To me this only meant that he was not a circle mage, he wasn't in that particular club. And really never got on with the circle in the first place. This didn't seem to faze Solace.

"technically all mages are now apostates, Cassandra." He said as if he was calm. Though there was still spite behind his words. I made a mental note not to talk of the circle with him…not yet anyway. He looked back to me, as if to put aside any worries I may have about him being apostate. "my travels have allowed me to learn much of the fade, far beyond the experiences of any circle mage. I come to offer whatever help I can give with the breach." He said, bowing his head again, not just to assure me but to also pacify Cassandra. "If it is not closed we are all doomed, regardless of origin." He concluded. A cheery note which just screamed of optimism. It all seemed too much to really take in. I didn't want to take it in. but there was little time to begin freaking out. I just nodded. close the breach, that was all that happened at this point in time. Solace turned to Cassandra again.

"you should know: the magic involved here is stronger than any I have ever seen." He warned.

"understood." She agreed. This just meant that she had fully calmed now. We were ready to carry on. "we must get to the forward camps, quickly." Cassandra affirmed this motion. Leading the way over a small fence. The road ahead was blocked, the remains of a few structures had crumpled in the aftermath of the breach or the explosion which caused this all.

"well, Bianca's excited." Varric followed her lead. I nodded joining them. Over the other side of the fence. We did seem to be getting dangerously close to the breach. The light casting a green glow in the snow around me. it was now defiantly too late to back away now. Cassandra would have hunted me down on my own, now two more had joined the guarding of the girl with the glowing hand party.

"we must move quickly." Solace came to my side. Pulling my attention away from the breach. He was right.

We have moved back across the valley, past the frozen river to battle some more demons. If anything, I just got to have a tour of the destruction that the breach had caused. Away from the settlement demons had claimed the valley and destroyed any structure or any living thing that they came into contact with. It was devastating. Was I to blame for all this? I couldn't remember anything, yet I was so adamant in my claims that I had done nothing. What if I had done something? That there was an actual reason for everyone to hate me. there had already been so much death. I looked at body after body, just lying on the ground where the demons had finished butchering them. I had finished burring my daggers into demon. It hadn't even been a day and I had been desensitized to the screams as the fell to the floor. As their bodies faded into nothing.

"so, I take it you're from the free marches." Varric asked me, his voice ringing through the rut I had found myself in. I looked back to him. He was smiling, an approachable smile made me want to talk. It was a needed distraction at any rate.

"oh?" I raised my brow to him. Varric grinned wider.

"I'm from Kirkwall." He explained, so he was from Ferelden, he certainly didn't have the Orlasian accent as Cassandra did. "you're from…further east maybe?" he asked his accuracy was quite astute. Tough I couldn't really say he was right or not. I hadn't been in the free marches for quite a long time. Still, I retained the tongue which I had learnt in my infancy. My voice my parents had passed down to me.

"very perceptive, that's quite the ear you have." I gave Varric a wry grin. This was no time to start telling them about my life story. I'm sure that if I was to life after this that they would want to know all about it. But as we were just moving it seemed to have caught Cassandras interest.

"it's a long way from the Free Marches. What brought you to Orlais?" she sounded as if it was just a polite inquiry. Though to me it was just as good as an interrogation.  
"well I have been living out here since I was a kid." I gestured around the mountains. And this really was the case. I was surprised at my own readiness to divulge this information. I closed my mouth, certain that it was not the smartest move to share parts of myself to my possible executioners. Varric must have caught the hint for he didn't try to pursue any further questions they might have had.

We were running up more steps when the mark on my hand surged again. The pain pulsing as I tried to power on through. I couldn't keep falling to the floor every time it hurt. I shook it angrily at my side, not daring to stop again.

"hold on, we haven't much further." Cassandra encouraged me. she must have been thankful that we had finally stopped running into demons at every turn. Since the convocation had picked up again Varric took the reins, clearly chattier than the rest of the group.

"so…are you innocent?" he asked. And I was a little taken aback. It was the only person to have asked and not just assumed I was guilty. If he had asked about an hour ago I could have told him I was innocent with no hesitation. But now…everything was too uncertain.

"I don't remember what happened." I said simply, trying to keep a quality of diplomatic vagueness in my response. If Cassandra was going to sense any change in my story I wouldn't put it past her putting me back in chains. Varric seemed to be quite taken with my reply however.

"that will get ya every time." He shook his head, almost in disbelief of my lack of preparation for such a predicament. "should have spun a story." I told me. he did mention he was a storyteller. Maybe he just used his charismatic powers to get him out of trouble? That wasn't a bad call. Unfortunately, I doubted that I was a charming as the Dwarf. No one wanted to listen to my story anyway.

"that's what you would have done." Cassandra cut in. pointing out just how she didn't agree with Varric and his way of dealing with situations. I was picking up on a theme. Still, she had clearly never been on the other end of her interrogations. I have said a lot of shit to get me out of trouble over the years.

"it's more believable and less likely to result in premature execution." Varric argued jovially. I couldn't have agreed more. Cassandra didn't even argue. It was already abundantly clear that she disapproved of Varric, but at this point in time he was the only one who seemed to be on my side, at the very least he was truly unbiased. Instead Cassandra changed topic.

"I hope Lilliana made it through all this." She commented as she passed yet another burning house.

"she's resourceful." Varric assured her, making an attempt to put her mind at ease.

"we shall see for ourselves at the forward camp. We're almost there." Solace added, clearly impatient by now. We had waisted enough time out here. We made it up the mountain, literally on the doorstep of the camp we had been trying to reach. Only what we found was a couple guards fighting demons, the gate was closed and another open rift was the only thing to greet us.

"we must seal it." Solace shouted, charging into battle. Surprisingly he was the first to move into action. Following his lead I drew my daggers. "hurry use your mark!" he told me, as if to tell me not to bother with the demons as my companions began to fight them. though I couldn't do that. I was going to help like it or not. Though once more, the demon forces were weakening by the time I joined in the fighting and so I held my hand up to the rift, preparing myself to the pain which pulled at the mark on my hand. I was already getting used to it. And just as the other had closer, this smaller rift too was pulled back together.

"the rift is gone. Open the gate." Cassandra commanded once this simple act had been achieved. I was already pretty tired. We hadn't stopped fighting or moving, the act of sealing the rifts was also taking some strength from me. I could see the mindful looks from both Varric and Solace from the corner of my eyes as I moved in front of the gate. I must have been a sight, sweat beading from my brow. I felt ill. But I held it together, it was still too soon to stop.

"right away Lady Cassandra." One of the guards began to follow the Seekers orders. Pulling the doors open for our party.

"we're clear for the moment. Well done." Solace gave me a reassuring look, motioning for me to go through the gate. I was a little apprehensive. There were more guards glaring at me, watching the mark on my hand wearily.

"whatever that thing on your hand is, it's useful." Varric noted coming up on my other side.

"I fucking hope so. I think it's the only reason I'm being kept alive." I muttered dryly moving forward.

The soldiers around us were keeping their distance, allowing us to move onwards to a tent ahead, I could already hear Lilliana arguing some matters with a man wearing the robe from the chantry. I held my breath. Great. This guy would certainly hate me. just as every other chantry loving fuck here. He looked up as I approached.

"ah, here they come." He remarked to Lilliana, stopping their convocation in its tracks.

"your made it." She actually sounded relived. Well I guess she wanted the key to closing the breach to get here in one peace after all. "chancellor Roderick, this is-" she began to start to give an explanation thought she was cut off by the Chancellor. He was glowering at me form the other side of the table where he stood, him and Lilliana were pouring over a map of the area before we had arrived.

"I know who she is." He hissed, eyes glancing briefly to my hand. He straightened up, trying to look as imposing as he was able. "as grand chancellor of the chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution." His words made my heart sink. That was just the thing that I had been trying to avoid. Execution, no matter how bad I had ever been before those definite words had never before been aimed at me. the Chancellor was looking down at me, a mighty look over his face.

"order me?" Cassandra was the one to retaliate first, before I had the nerve to begin running. "you are a glorified clerk, a bureaucrat!" she argued, her nostrils flaring. Clearly, she did not take kindly to him playing king. My impression of her was improving.

"and you're a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the chantry." Chancellor Roderick retaliated. But neither Cassandra or Lilliana made a move to arrest or kill me.

"we serve the most holy, Chancellor, as you well know." Lilliana reminded him. She had straightened herself. Talking though gritted teeth, as if she was fighting the urge to truly bite back at the man.

"Justiana is dead!" he shouted at her. He threw his hands up, justifying his commands with this statement. Both Lilliana and Cassandra winced at his words. The pain was still too fresh. "we must elect s replacement and obey her orders on the matter." He concluded turning to glare at me again.

"so, no one's in charge here?" I asked looking to anyone who could possible tell me what the hell was going on.

"you killed everyone who was in charge!" the chancellor growled at me. I refused to move back from the man. I was not a murderer just yet. There was still no prof. I cleared my throat. I was still going to clear my name. one step at a time. That was all that mattered.

"what about the breach? Isn't closing it the more pressing issue?" I argued back at the frantic more. Trying to remind him of what was truly important, hopefully moving his thoughts way from my impending death.

"you're the reason all this mess is happening." He snapped, still not wavering in his verdict. I clenched my fists. This was not fair. after all I was helping, he was hiding in his little camp away from all the demons and death while innocent people out there died. I really hated him.

"yes, blame me. the evil little cretin who just didn't die." I hissed. "but this isn't getting us anywhere. Before you arrest me and send me off to die how about we try to do something?" I snapped at him. My words even surprising me. I had never been so forward before, I guess I had reached my own breaking point. Though I remained firm. "maybe you'll get lucky and I'll be axed by a demon while I try to close that giant fucking hole in the sky." I growled.

The Chancellor however did not seem overly impressed. He was already moving on, talking solely to Cassandra.

"call a retreat Seeker, our position here is hopeless." His words were that of a desperate man, however his tone still retained his arrogance. How could a man of the cloth be so ignorant?

"we can stop this before it's too late." Cassandra reminded him. She was calmer than I had been. I guess she was used to dealing with idiots from the chantry.

"how? You won't survive long enough to reach the temple." Cheery note. "even with all your soldiers." The chancellor's optimism was truly inspiring. I was rearing to go, head out to really prove him wrong.

"we must get to the temple. It's the quickest route" Cassandra said. Pointing the map in front of him. I looked to the path she was highlighting. It certainly was the fastest way to get to the breach. Though the ruins of the temple…there would surely be a lot of demons there…I had seen too many demons today already. Lilliana joined her, her eyes scouting around the map.

"but not the safest." She mused. "our forces can charge as a distraction while we go thought the mountains." She suggested motioning at another path. It led to the same place. The rout of the explosion. But Cassandra was not too happy with this alternative.

"we lost contact with an entire squad on that path, it is too risky." Cassandra implored for Lilliana to back down. Though she gave no hint of joining the seekers head on strategy.

Chancellor Roderick was also not following. Though he was a little more depressing than either of the two women. As the sky flared overhead he pleaded with them again.

"listen to me. Abandon this now. Before more lives are lost." He began to insist. Though it was all too clear that this was not an option. Lives were already lost and there was only going to be more destruction the longer we left this unchecked. The breach rumbled out a more thunderous reply to our silence. My hand jolts up, the light seeping from my palm as reaching out to the tear in the sky. It hurt. The pain coursing through me as it had been since I got the bloody thing. I growled holding my hand, trying to ease it all by using pressure. Trying to regain control. I was sure that this may have given me the look of someone deranged or untrustworthy. I glowed with the same light as the breach, the cause of all this fuckery. When I looked back up Cassandra was in front of me.

"how do you think we should proceed?" she asked. She could not have been serious? Was she actually asking for my opinion? For me to give out orders? Was she just humouring me?

"why the hell should I give the orders?" I asked, still shaken by the tremor of pain which had taken my hand.

"you have the mark" Solace reminded me. as if I could have forgotten.

"and you are the one we must keep alive." Cassandra added. "since we cannot agree on a decision on our own…" she prompted for me to finish her sentence. I was actually given the final word. I looked at her and Lilliana. Why was I the one to choose? This was a big decision. What if we didn't make it and we died? that would all be on me. the end of the world would really be my fault then. I held my breath. I could do this. Everyone was waiting for a decision and time was ticking by all too quickly. The breach would not wait for us to pussy around this.

"use the mountain path. Work together, you know what's a stake." I sighed, the words falling from my mouth. The tension eased. I almost felt better for it. At least now the plan would be in motion. Cassandra nodded then turned to Lilliana.

"Bring everyone left in the valley, everyone." She grasped her companions arm. She must have been losing it in the tragedy of everything as I had. Lillian nodded and moved away swiftly. She was going to have a lot of work to go trying to get to survivors. The Chancellor was at the table, bend over it in defeat

"on your head be the Consequences, Seeker." He hissed. Cassandra made no indication to have heard him. Though it was clear, to him, in his eyes any screw up I did was going to be her fault too. She looked to me. ready to move out. I nodded. I couldn't fuck this up. I just wasn't allowed to.

We set out at once to the mountain pass and immediately I was beginning to regret it. I was certainly thankful that I was not scared of heights, my training wouldn't have allowed such fears, for we were mostly scaling the sides of cliffs with my all too wise decision. The ladders were old and breaking, the stone of the mining structures were partly collapse due to the breaches effects. Liliana said that this was the safer route, safe my ass.

"the tunnel should be just ahead. The path to the temple lies just beyond it." Cassandra instructed as I was for some reason, leading everyone up the ladders barely strapped to the cliff face.

"what manner of tunnel is this?" Solace called from somewhere under me. I was not about to look down to find out his exact location.

"part of an old mining complex. These mountains are full of such paths." That I did know it. I had been in many of such of those mining tunnels for a while now. So much so that I knew just how easy it was to get list in them. I was not looking forward to this.

"and your missing scouts are in there somewhere?" Varric added. He seemed to care a bit more about the missing scouts than everyone else, or maybe he was just a little more open about it.

"alone with whatever's detaining them." Solace remarked rather grimly. I had been trying to avoid that thought. But as we climbed higher it was seemed to be more and more likely that this was going to be the case.

"we shall see." Cassandra muttered. Clearly, she too did not really want to think of such matters. We finally reached the top of the ladders, leaving only the tattered, poorly maintained mining structures placed rather haphazardly on the mountain edge. I would not have like to have been the one stationed up here. What was worse was the silence, there was no one at all, it just more this all the more creepy. I held my breath as we turned each corner. And then we had reached the tunnel. I peered inside. No one was telling me to stop or that they would take over the lead. It was just me. the cannon fodder. I moved into the tunnel. The entrance was large enough. I would have thought at it would have been lighter. But it wasn't. almost instantly upon entering was I thrown into darkness. Navigating mining tunnel was like trying to work your way through a maze, a really sinister maze. It was too quiet. Too dark and I was just waiting for demons to jump out at me. needless to say, I was not having fun. There were however a few balconies, opening out into where the miners would have no doubt worked. It was deep, vast, very intimidating. But it was the only thing which comforted me. I could hear everything, and it was empty, every drip of condensation, every time someone kicked a pebble. I heard it. Nothing could hide from me in this place. It calmed me, my shaken nerves began to heal again. It was not too long before we reached the other end of the tunnel. And it was only when we exited the dark creepy tunnel did we encounter something more disturbing. Bodies.

"guess we found the soldiers." Varric noted grimly. Looking down at the bodies at the entrance way to the mines. They were just lying there. Played out across the stone steps leading down to the mountain passage towards the temple of sacred ashes. He knelt down to one, mournfully looking down at the cold face.

"that cannot be all of them." Cassandra looked around at the scouts. There were only a few of them. I counted three. But there could have been more thrown elsewhere. The demons were strong. And some may have begun running away before getting caught. It wasn't a pleasant thought…but still. It wasn't looking good.

"so, the others could be hold up ahead." Varric turned around to us. He looked more hopeful that I could bring myself to be. Though he could have been right. I needed to look at the bright side.

"our Priority must be the preach." Solace reminded us all. "unless we seal it soon, no one is safe." He was right as well. From the mountain, top I could see all of Haven, and it put it all in perspective. Still, with so much of a view the only place where I found myself getting pulled to was the Breach. It needed to be fixed. I didn't want to see it grow any more, and that was putting aside what it was doing to my own body.

"I'm leaving that to the Lady with the glowing hand." Varric came to my side, giving me a mischievous grin. I shook my head heading down the path. We had lingered long enough around the dead.

"charming. Leave everything to the kid." I muttered. "all you lot can just relax." The followed me, it was not too far away from the temple now.

"now you mention it, you are rather young." Solace remarked. "would you mind if I asked?" he sounded politely curious. Quite a change from how he was so single minded before.

"I'll be 21 in a couple months…I think." I shrugged, picking up my pace involuntary as we began to head downhill. "guess I can't really call myself a kid too much."

"oh." Cassandra frowned. "I never thought about that." She sounded a little…could it have been regret which now froze her voice.

"I guess this kind of the breach didn't care what age you are when it planted that mark on ya." Varric gave me an encouraging nudge as we ran, very nearly knocking me off my feet as he did so. "don't worry kid. We'll get you through this. Might be a bit beaten up, but no one's coming out of this smelling like roses."

"don't start treating me like a _kid_ now." I barked out a laugh, though it still sounded pretty cold. "it didn't matter how old I was when I was being accused of Murder. Or when you expected me to lead the charge against demons and making your decisions." There was still a bitter taste about it all in the back of my mouth. I swallowed, not wanted to start giving into a need to curl up and give in. I hadn't been a child in years. Not even when I really was a child. Just because I was younger than my companions didn't mean that I was any less capable, or any less to blame…possibly. We all had to come on this path. Nothing was going to change that.

The path was leveling out when I could see it, another small rift where the path stopped before leading down a sudden drop. Cassandra raced on ahead, as if she hadn't see the rift flask and spark into lift, spurting out fresh demons into our world.

"Lady Cassandra!" a woman was at the rift, clad in a fur armor I had seen the scouts adorn. These must have been the missing troops, the ones that we hadn't found dead outside of the mountain pass. Cassandra had thrown herself forward, impaling a demon onto the end of her sword. She looked back to the woman, a grin of relief spreading across her face.

"Lieutenant! You're alive." she panted, pulling her sword from the sagging demon to turned to yet another. I caught up with her, pulling my own blades out to aid her. There were three more of them, though they were injured. They looked as tired as I felt and they were, more worrying, covered in blood. But they had made it.

"just barely" the lieutenant hung back, behind Cassandra and myself as we supplied their immediate support. We had slain the first grouping of demons which came from this rift. Tough there would be more. There would always be more, it was almost as if the rift needed to expel a certain number of monsters before it would be allowed to be sealed. Rather high maintenance for a hole in reality. Solace and Varric were keeping their eye on us from a range, their attacks were better this way. Though I was always weary of being hit by one of them. it would just be so convenient to be struck down by friendly fire. As the rift burst forth new creatures, I felt my legs give way slightly. The demons which now faced me were different. They weren't the nightmarish combination of a man drowned in tar and a hunched lunatic but father they resembled a withered tree, only growing a luminous green, which I readily identified as the magic which charged the rift and all that would come free from the fade. Two of them, other with willowy elongated limbs, as if they were rack victims, their necks barely able to support the weight of their screeching heads. They were always screeching. I readied myself. I still had a long day ahead of me before I could allow myself to rest.

"keep it up Kid." Varric called to me over the cry of the demon. I gave him a thumbs-up before charging at the demon. I couldn't allow him to worry. Not now of all times. I leaped, trying to gain as much air as possible before coming down onto the demon, it was strangely hot, as if the light it emitted was fire. I didn't let it bother me. I began slicing at it. Aiming at it's vital point; the head I had found was the main area which allowed for a nice swift kill.

"Dead." Cassandra announced as the demon form vanished from under me. I turned to the rift. It needed to be closer, now before anything else managed to get through. I held up my hand to it. As I had done before. The light reaching from my palm to the rift once more. It was already becoming familiar. The pain, a sign that it would all end soon. And the it was over, the light bursting once more and thus forcing the tear to heal back up. I sighed swaying back. Another one down.

"sealed. As before. You are becoming quite proficient at this." Solace had miraculously appeared at my side. He was smiling, though I could see that he was tired too. Varric had mentioned how he had been keeping me alive as I was sleeping before. How long was he doing so? I looked to my other companions. How long could we last?

"let's hope it works on the big one." Varric jogged closer to us. Looking to the breach not too far ahead of us now. We were almost there. I just had to keep telling myself that.

"thank the maker you finally arrived, Lady Cassandra." The Lieutenant was now with the seeker. Breaking away from her troop to give thanks to her savior. "I don't think we could have held out much longer." She admitted. And I had to agree with her. She was not dressed for battle. None of them were. Their armor too thin. Their weapons wouldn't have dealt sufficient damage. They, if anyone were in need of assistance. But they were just a few people in a large valley. How many other could we reach in time?

"thank our Prisoner, Lieutenant. She insisted we come this way." Cassandra moved back to allow the Lieutenant to see me. I was standing sheepishly near where I had sealed the rift.

"the prisoner, then you…" The woman bowed her head to me. crossing an arm over her chest. The surprise in her voice all too apparent. I couldn't help but smile. I had helped someone. I managed to at least do something useful.

"it was worth the risk-" I tried to say, but my throat was dry, my words getting caught the more I tried to say. I started over. "it was worth saving you if we could." I said again, managing to finish my sentence. The woman bowed her head to me again.

"then you have me sincere gratitude." She still looked a little surprised, or at least that was what I could see through her helmet.

"the way to the valley behind us is clear for the moment." Cassandra informed the soldiers. "go while you still can." She instructed and they nodded at one another.

"at once. Quickly, lets move." she lieutenant commanded the remaining members of her own party and without any more delay they ran past us. Heading back to the safety of the forward camp.

"the path ahead appears to be clear of demons as well." Solace noted looking ahead down the mountain. He looked back to us, his expression very stern.

"Let's hurry before that changes." Cassandra agreed, and the two of them now lead the charge. "down the valley, that's the way to the temple." I hung back a little, Varric keeping to my side. My head was dizzy. I was running out of energy.

"you up for this, Kid?" he asked as the other two we removing down the ladder, heading straight towards the temple. I looked down to him as I began to climb down the ladder myself.

"do I have a choice?" I flashed him a small smile. But that was about all I could muster. I could do this. I could at least do this.

We kept moving till the head of the party came to an abrupt halt. We had reached the temple. Or at least we had reached what was once the temple.

"the temple of sacred ashes." Solace announced. It was hard to believe. I couldn't remember ever visiting the place before. But it was not meant to have looked like this. This was the place that the divine had chosen to start a new order, a world where mages and templars could work together in peace. Now…it truly looked like hell.

"what's left of it." Varric said, clearly thinking as I had been. I walked, carefully over the charred landscape. There was not an inch of space not effected by the effects of the destruction. There really had been an explosion here. There were only small portions of the temple still intact, the rest was destroyed, the ruins of it and the mountain itself from where it was built from and on top of were black, fused and welded together by the familiar green light. They were demonic monoliths stretching up into the sky, reaching up towards the breach. They too were familiar. They correlated to my fragmented memory of my time in the face. Similar landscapes must be common past the breach. Or at least they were to how I knew it, how I thought I remembered it.

"maker." I muttered, moving deeper into the ruins. There was more than just the wreckage of the temple which could be seen, more tragically there were people, if you could recognize them as people anymore. Their bodies black and skeletal, posed in tortured, strained postures and positions. They were melted, merged with the remnants of the besmirched temple. Trapped where they were disastrously struck. No warning. No time to escape. Lives taken so painfully.

"that is where you walked out of the fade." Cassandra gestured to a bar patch of the temple. It was just as black and decayed as the rest of the place. "they say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was." She continued. Maybe she was hinting for me to reveal some more information. But there was nothing. If anything, my head just hurt. To say this was all terrible would have been an understatement.

I moved on, unable to linger in that place anymore. Yet there were still more bodies to be seen even when I turned to corner. I didn't want to see this. I didn't come here to see this.

"the Breach is a long way up." Varric muttered, causing my mind to stretch up to the sky once more. The green clouds were still far too high. Even up in the mountains, as high as we could get it was far beyond my reach. Unless I could somehow sprout wings, there was no hope in getting my hands on the thing to close it. It was moving, churning in the sky, rumbling and shooting out sparks at random intervals. The lights reached down to us, compared to how it had all been before however it all seemed calm, the stillness of it all highly disturbed me,

"you're here." A voice reached us, it was quietly surprised. I looked up to see Liliana. "thank the maker." She muttered moved closer to us. I looked past her, there were soldiers behind her, keeping their distance from all of us.

"Liliana, have your men take position around the temple." Cassandra greeted her comrade briefly and Lilliana nodded. now was clearly not the time for pleasantries. She moved back to the men, ordering them to spread out around the temple. I turned away while they began organizing the soldiers. What was I doing here? Why was I here in the first place? When this place was still a temple. I looked up the at breach. It had looked angry when I was down in Haven, now that I was so close to it, seeing it in all its…glory? Well I was terrified all over again. Though it was almost mesmerizing, if it hadn't killed so many I would have questioned it beauty. An anomaly in the sky, full of light and movement. I was draw to it. I wish I wasn't. I wanted to hate it more, hate what it meant and did. But I was filled with a distasteful serenity chick truly sickened me. I hated myself. Cassandra moved in front of me, she looked ready to fight. Her expression a mask of seriousness once more.

"this is your chance to end this." She told me, her eyes were clear as was her voice. I could trust her. I would trust her. "are you ready?" I straightened up, nodding. I wasn't really ready at all. I never would be. But that had never stopped me before.

"Just tell me what to do." I said gravely. I stared right back at her. I needed instruction, I would be the tool that were asking for, even if it killed me. "I'm assuming you have a plan to get me up there." I cleared my throat as I pointed up at the breach.

"no." Solace shot this notion down before Cassandra could even theorize how it would be possible. He pointed over to a rift below the breach, nestled within the crater in the center of the temple. It was much larger than the other rifts, black crystals grew and pulsed form the tear, pulsing and rolling over one another. The green threads of light unfolding from the breach bound their shapes spilling from the rift, coiling over them, feeding them.

"this rift was the first. And it is the key." Solace continued. I felt like sighing. There were so many "keys" around this place. My hand was a key, that reach was the key. What would be the next key? A bloody dragon? "seal it, and perhaps we seal the breach." Solace finished. I noted how he said _perhaps_. This was no certainty. This was all theory. Even if I made it out of this alive, there were no guarantees that this would save me, save anyone for that matter. But what else was there? There was nothing else for it. This would have to do. It was the only plan we had. It would have to work.

"then let's find a way down." Cassandra nodded. she looked to me, her eyes wide. I didn't know what else there was to say, but she surprised me: "be careful." She told me genteelly. I nodded. I couldn't speak anymore. I only had to move into action. Fight whatever was no doubt down there. Patch up a hope in the sky. Prove without a doubt that I did not kill the most holy. And then climb back down the mountain victorious. No problem. People did that all the time.

There were no stares down to the crater where the rift was sat. of course, there wouldn't, that would have just been too easy. So, I moved around the temple. Trying to look for a drop what wouldn't result in a broken leg if I jumped down.

"now is the hour of our victory." A booming echo rang though the temple. The low voice following me though the temple. I jumped looking around frantically, it sounded so close. It was if it the voice was hovering over my shoulder. He resonating out from my mind. "bring forth the sacrifice." The voice called out. commanding something which quickly become something even more sinister.

"what are we hearing?" Cassandra barked agitated. I was not the only person to have been spooked by the sudden disembodied voice echoing around the death temple full of corpses.

"at a guess: the person who created the Breach." Solace replied calmly. I slowed a little, looking back to him. This was it. The evidence that I was innocent. I had it from a mage educated in the fade! And anyone could testify that the voice which shook the temple ruins was not mine. This had already made an unexpected positive turn.

"we need to carry on." Cassandra reminded me. I nodded, filled with new vigor. She was right. It would only be the evidence I needed if I got out of this. We carried on moving, managing to moved down a sloping passage closer to the rift. Large mounds of red crystals were jutting out from the mountain where the brick work of the temple had been blasted aside. They hummed, buzzing with a static which raised my hair. I frowned looking to them. I had never seen crystals like them before.

"you know this stuff is red Lyrium, Seeker?" Varric was by my side. Watching my hand warningly as I was mere inches away from a few of the larger crystals, they stood as tall any of the temples remaining walls. I was curious, even now as Varric was wordlessly telling me to back off.

"magic could have drawn on Lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it…" it was solace who had offered the explanation. I didn't know anything about Lyrium, only that templars used it. It was a drug which was dangerously addictive. Though I had never heard of red Lyrium.  
"it's Evil." Varric snapped. "whatever you do: don't touch it." He spelt it out clearly to me. putting himself between me and the crystal. I nodded. I did not want to get caught up in something else. And there were more pressing matters at hand.

"keep the sacrifice still." The booming commands of the echoing voice were louder now, we were almost level with the rift. It was almost deafening. We had run out of slope. There was still a small ledge to get down in order to reach the rift. But it would be easier to jump down.

"someone. Help me." another voice echoed into the chamber now. A different voice, a woman's. She was panicked: It was too familiar.

"that's divine Justinia's voice!" Cassandra blurted out. she, herself seemed to be in distress upon hearing this. That was it. I jumped down the ledge. This was it, as close as I could get to the rift. Cassandra, Solace, Varric, and a handful of soldiers followed me. my heart was beating too much, I could feel it in my throat. I was sure it was shaking me as I moved. And then, the closer I got to the rift, yet another voice joined the voice of the Divine and her capture.

"what's going on here?" the mark on my hand began to flare out violently. The pulses of pain beating in time with my heart.

"that was your voice." Cassandra turned to me, her voice becoming more accusatory. "Most Holy called out to you but…" she was stopped in her tracks was the rift started to change. Just as the mark on my hand burst into light, the rift too widening up. It's light turning brighter and lighter as it grew. A vision was now within the light. Images moving around: most was in shadow, though two were clear for all to see. The first was a large cloaked figure, their face in shadow, all but for two glowing eyes. This was the bearer of the commanding voice, the creator of the breach. The other figure was a human woman, dressed in the red and while regal uniform of the chantry. She was fixed in the air, her arms spread out from her body and held into place by an enclosing light. I had never seen magic like that before. This was the Divine. I knew her face, there was no mistaking it. Even if I hadn't recognized her, her robes were not of the usual mothers and sisters within the chantry. Though the vision was not over. Another figure ran into view; a young woman with flaming red hair tide neatly into a bun. She ran in, anger twisted on her face.

"what's going on here?" she barked. I barked.

"Run while you can!" the Divine called out to me. her voice pained, straining to reach me. "warn them." she pleaded.

"we have an intruder. Killed her." The larger shadowy figure commanded to unseen followers. "NOW!" he boomed and the vision burnt out. collapsing back into the rift where it had come from. I stared at where the figure of the divine had been. If I wanted proof that would have been brilliant.

"you were there!" Cassandra rounded on me. her face as angry as when I had first met her. "who attacked? And the divine, is she…?" she stopped, her anger ebbing away slightly. She looked to solace. "was that vision true? What are we seeing?"

"Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into the place." Solace muttered, his eyes still on where the vision had been conjured into life. "the rift is not sealed, but it is closed." He mused. Walking around the rift "…albeit temporary." He finished looking back to Cassandra. "I believe that with the mark, the rift can be sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side." Solace looked to me. he did not look scared, or worried. His gaze was strong. And this may have been the most reassuring thing I had seen all day. I nodded. this was going to happen.

"that means demons." Cassandra finished Solace's unsaid warning. The demons would come into our world the moment I wake this big old rift up. And judging by the size of this rift…it meant there would be an army of them. "stand ready." She called to the soldiers around the temple. It was now or never. I rise my hand up to the rift. The light shot from my palm, intertwining with the threads unraveling from the rift and the beach. Pulling at the fabric of the tear above me. I gritted my teeth. This hurt. It took longer than before. It felt as if my strength was seeping from me; pouring into the rift in order for it to open. With a definitive burst, which a few more siring sparks shooting out towards from the rift it was open. And that was not all- no army of demons came through, I was wrong about that. But I wasn't happy about the alternative. Instead of masses of demons, only one came out from the other side. One giant demon. I yet to see one of this size. It was over twice the size of any man, looking over us laughing cruelly. It was actually laughing, as if knowing of the horrors it was about to inflict on to us. Its entire body was covered in a stony armor, extending out in spikes and harden plates. Its muscles bulged with every movement. This thing was too big. It turned around to me. I was closest to the beast, caught between it and the rift. Its angular face was pulled back, a cluster of small beady eyes staring back at me. it smiled, rows of pointed teeth spread out towards me. I feared them a lot more than their over-sized talons or it's twisted black horns. If anything was going to gut me I had a feeling it would be those filed down teeth. I pulled my daggers form their sheaths. I was not going to back down here. I had come too far to start crying or backing away.

"NOW!" Cassandra shouted to the temple. The soldiers moved into action. Arrows began to rain from all sides, striking the demons hard armored body, but to no effect. The companions which had followed me all the way up here were attacking too. It didn't even matter with what. Blades, rocks, magic. Whatever you could get your hands on. All energy was directed to the behemoth sized demon beside the rift.

"we must strip its defenses! Wear it down!" Cassandra urged us on. Trying to keep up rallied as our initial attacks didn't seem to be harming the demon at all. it was in fact still laughing. No. this thing was not invincible. It would die. they all died. he began to lash out at the soldiers scattered around its feet. It's huge hands throwing clawed fists down to the ground, sending tremors across the battle field. I couldn't feel my attacks working. the defenses on this beast were too strong. Noting seemed to be working.

"more demons coming though the rift!" Cassandra panted, still finding the energy to shout the warning. I felt clammy hands grasp at my limbs, dragging me back. The demons had grabbed me. I twisted on their grasp. Two of them. small ones, the normal ones. I was quite relieved at this. Now I was laughing, staring at them. they were not ready for me now. I growled spinning down at them. lashing out with all I had. They were not going to win. They were not going to take this away from me. they were not going to sully this temple further with yet another calamity. I finished the two demons which had pulled me away from the bigger battle. Now I was just looking at the scene before me. my allies were struggling. Even Cassandra, the powerhouse of raw anger and strength was bleeding-quite badly. Yet she was still charging in head first against the demon's armor. Solace looked tired, as if he was about to drop at any moment. Some of the soldier who had followed us had fallen. I looked around to try and find Varric. He was on the ground.

"shit." I hissed. He was just lying there, he couldn't be dead. I ran over to him. Luckily enough he was a little further from the main battle. I knelt over him. Smaller demons were rounding on us. I growled slicing at them. "Varric! It's no time for your beauty sleep!" I yell out as a demon began to grapple me. I stabbed my daggers down into their back, letting it sink in, to only stab it again and again. It recoiled, retreating away to collapse. I lent over him slapping his face. "come on you ass hat. Wake up." I shouted down at me. a screech from behind me warned me of yet another lesser demon. I groaned turning to it. But it had already got the drop on me. it was about to pounce. I braced myself. only I didn't need to. It didn't get me. an arrow flew passed my side, nailing it quite in the eye. I looked back. Varric was pulling himself. Upright. I gritted my teeth nodding to him. He gave me a thumbs-up in return. Back to action. No more dramatics.

This fight was dragging out. too much was being lost and the big demon showed no signs of letting up any time soon. What we needed was for the rift to close. It needed to close now. And I was the only one who could do that. I ran from Varric, heading straight up to the rift again, holding my palm up to the green light. Sparks flew from my hand. I didn't even register the pain anymore. Only the pain carried on, continuously, and the rift was not closing. the light was not severing, it was growing.

"just give up she fucker." I shouted at the rift. I was done with this. I wasn't ready to lose or give up. It just needed to stop. And then with another burst coming from the rift I was shot back, thrown from my feet. But I was not the only one. The demon, the big guy. As the rift flared out she beast cried in pain. I stared at them. that had hurt him. And then it stuck me. they were connected. The demon and the rift. We could only close the rift when the demon was taken care of, and the rift could weaken the demon. As he knelt down winded Cassandra was able to strike him with a few damaging blows. It wailed trying to lash out with one heavy arm arching over to the Seeker. But he was growing sluggish and Cassandra was getting a second wind. The tables were turning. It was our turn now.

"the Demon is vulnerable! Now!" I called lunging at the demon with my blades alone with Cassandra. The soldier around us seemed to be rallying in this sudden change of events. We were swarming over the creature as ants did over forgotten fruit. We had to keep it up. This was our chance. but the demon pulled its head up. Roaring up to the breach.

"No you don't." I hissed moving back. Turning towards the rift again and once more holding my glowing hand up to the light. The connection between the rift and myself was re-established. The light coiling around my fingers, pulling me closer as the pain intensified. Too many screams were calling out around me for me to hear my own. But I was sure that my own voice was just as loud as the Demon behind me getting its ass handed to it. The rift surged again and I heard the demon cry once more. I turned to see Cassandra plunge her sword down into the demon's throat. dark crimson blood spurted into the temple. The demon's cries of pain were ebbing away, it's hulking hands desperately trying to claw up at its attacker. Yet it couldn't reach.

"NOW. SEAL THE RIFT. DO IT" Cassandra shouted as blood still shot out over her, a fountain of thick black fluids clinging to her face and armor. I didn't need to be told twice. I, hopefully for the last time threw my palm into the sky. Focusing all my attention to the rift, the hole in the sky and all the shit that came from it. The threads which had seeped from it were now tendrils, swirling around my hand, attaching itself to my entire limb. It wanted my arm, it was going to take it. Hell, it could have it as long as this could just end. No more hole in the sky, no more demons or green lights. No more visions or chantry clerks telling me I was a killer. I growled, forcing more of my strength into keeping my arm up, my palm to the rift. The rift pulsed. It had taken a lot. All I could give. I could see the crystals of the rift withdrawing and pulling back through into the fade. It was closing. I kept my arm up as I dropped to my knees. My vision failed me. all I could see was darkness. I could hear the muffled alarmed calls of those around me. well, it was done now. I did the best I could.

I was comfortable. Warm and nestled in something soft which softly embraced me on all sides. I groaned. My voice still worked, even if my throat was dry. I felt like shit. But my head was not hurting as it had before. I felt better, a hell of a lot better than I had before. My eyes flickered open. I was in a wooden room. The warm glow of a sunny day pushed against the dyed curtains of the single roomed hut. I wasn't dead. The fact my body ached so much was reason enough to believe this. I rolled my head around, it cracked as I did so. I was too young to be aching this much, surly. Then, with a clatter someone announced their presents in the room.

"I didn't know you were awake, I swear!" the woman exclaimed. I pulled myself upright. There was an elf in my room. She was scared. No, this wasn't right. I had never been served before. And I didn't like scaring people just by looking at them. I frowned.

"it's alright. don't sweat it. I only-" I began but she was turning frantic. She had dropped to her knees. Bowing her head to me. I had lost words at this. What was she doing? Why was she doing this?

"I get your forgiveness and your blessing. I am I humble servant." She stammered out her pleas. She didn't dear look me in the eyes as I tried to look at her squarely. This really didn't make much sense. How come every time I passed out I woke up to utter confusion? I made a quick mental note not to pass out anymore. To think that I kept doing that in such a short space of time. My handler would kill me if they found out…no. there was no one anymore. I looked away from the elf. Clearly me staring at her was not about to help her nerves. If she wanted to act like a lunatic, I'd let her.

"where am i?" I asked. My voice croaking with every syllable.

"you're back in Haven, My Lady." The Elf was still on her hands and knees. I raised my brow at _my Lady_. I had never been called that before. I didn't know if I liked that sound of it. "they say you saved us. The breach stopped Growing. Just like the mark on your hand." I looked down to my palm, as if to check. It was still glowing a very bright and vibrant green. But it was not burning, it was not pulling at my nerves or threatening to sever my arm form it's socket. That had to be a win. "it's all anyone has talked about the last three days." She elf pulled herself to her feet. I was surprised her head didn't hit the sealing with the speed she shot up. Was I that intimidating? More importantly…it had all worked. The mission to the temple of sacred ashes was over. We had won.

"then were…safe?" I asked looking up at her. "the danger is over." I got to my feet. Excited for it all to be over with. I could get on with my life now. I could leave this hell and forget it ever happened.

"the Breach is still in the sky." The Elf stammered. I felt my smile fall. So, it was not over. "b-but that's what they say." She carried on explaining. She was backing away from me. inching closer to the door. "I'm certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you've wakened." She thumbled behind her to reach the door handle.

"where is she? Cassandra I mean?" I asked. I may have to avoid where ever the seeker was. If I wanted to leave I couldn't bump into her.

"in the chantry, with the Lord Chancellor, _at once_ she said." The Elf turned leaving quickly. I could hear her running from the hut. That was certainly the strangest encounter I had so far.

I sighed looking around the room. I had never actually been in the settlement of Haven…this was another first. Not to mention that I had woken up in a bed, an actual bed. I was getting spoiled. I moved around, testing my balance on my still shaky legs. I was weak, that was for sure. Well I was expecting to be dead. All things considered this wasn't too bad. I pursed on my turn around the room. Herbs scattered on the table, potions and medicines being ground. I had been hoping for food but even the box that the elf had dropped only contained Elfroot which was now spilled across the floor. There were some notes scrawled and left on the table. The pages blotted by a tired hand and specs of whatever potion was being concocted at the table. I was feeling nosy enough to peer a them. I didn't want to go running off it I find out that I was physically incapable of doing so. They were a record of a patient, I was guessing that the patient was none other than myself. they read:

" _Day one: clammy, shallow breathing. Pulse over fast. Not responsive. Pupils dilated. Mage says her scarring mark is thrumming with known magic. Wish we could station a templar here just in case."_ I was the only one with a _thrumming mark_ round here. The mage must have been Solace. They were doing a lot to keep me alive after all. I flipped over the page. The notes carried on. They were all short and concise notes. But I supposed that I was keeping them too busy to write any more by the sounds of it. The second note was just as brief as the first: " _day two: Pulse normal. Breathing normal. Still unresponsive; careful drip-feed for prep. Elfroot extract has hastened her recovery. A lot of thrashing. Mutters about too many eyes. Something about "the grey". Encouraging?"_ …no it wasn't encouraging really. That last part sounded down right creepy. I carried on reading. " _day three: less thrashing. Some response to stimulus. Vitals seem solid. Two attempts so far by locals to break into the chantry to kill me patient. All this work to save their life, and will they just execute them? will inform lady Cassandra I expect her to wake before the morn."_ They were still trying to kill me. yet more talks of executions…it was all too much. On the bright side, it seemed like I made a startling recovery. Still, I couldn't just brush over that many still wanted me dead. I had been on the brink of death, or so it had seemed. And they had kept a close eye on me for three days. Three days and now I was as right as rain. I wondered if I would even be allowed to skip out on them now. Not likely. I'd have to escape.

"back to the old plan." I muttered looking back to the door. This was just how it was meant to be. Before more people got the chance to kill me, I was going to head out. the door was unlocked, the elf who had literally ran away from me didn't bother to mess around with any keys as she made her own escape. Anyone would have thought that I'd have attacked her. I guess I couldn't really blame her, apparently, I was a murderer, who'd want to be alone in a room with someone so heartless as to kill the divine? No. I didn't do that. I had practically cleared my name completely…apparently not enough. No, there was nothing else for it. I had to leave. I pulled open the door…and I what I saw was truly unexpected. People a massive crowd, all swarmed on either side of my front door. They had clearly herd that I was awake, they had come to get me for sure, to force me to answer for my alleged crimes. I was going to have to make a run for it. Chased from Haven, I wish I could say that it would have made for a good story- then I could have sold it to some bard for bread money. Though, no second glance, no one was coming at me. some were craning their heads to get a better look at the idiot (me) in the doorway. But that was it.

"that's the Herald of Andraste" a voice, small and filled with awe muttered out from the crowd. I looked around, expecting to see another, but all eyes were turned on me. they weren't coming to get me. they were just watching. I stepped form the hut. Still, they made no move to collect me, to hunt me down. Was this a sick game? It had to be.

"they said when she came out of the fade, Andraste herself was watching over her." Another villager was muttering to the first. I flicked my eyes over into their direction, they were young, mattering as any gossips would. But everyone else was too quiet for their own convocation to be ignored.

"hush, we shouldn't disturb her." A third, older villager, put a stop to their talk. And that stood as the others in silence, albeit a little more flushed. I turned away. Marching forward. There were no many people to run away. Too many lining the only path. It was almost as if it was planned. The hoards marked every exit from the settlement. I wouldn't have put it past them to lock the doors either. Even if they hadn't they were watching too intently to left any move go unnoticed. The lines of people, they were all leading me to one place, as where all the paths there leading me to: the chantry. Where Cassandra would be waiting for me. I held my breath. I didn't want to go into a Chantry. They had always creeped me out. there were a few women dressed in the robes of the devout gather on either side of the chantry doors. They too were muttering, gossiping as I arrived.

"chancellor Roderick says that the chantry wants nothing to do with us." A young woman was hastily whispering. She sounded close to tears.

"that isn't the Chancellors decision sister." Another said more defiantly. This wasn't calming her younger companion however.

"most of the grand clerks died at the conclave. Who will lead us now?" she whined. But she was hushed as I approached.

"Maker be with you." A woman adorned in the robes of a chantry mother blessed me as I walked up to the doors. I blinked at her, a little taken aback. Now I was being blessed? Me! come to think of it the elf who was in the hut with me asked for blessings _from me._ I didn't like where this was going.

I walked into the chantry. There was no escaping now. The walls of the chantry's main chamber seemed to close in as I moved to the more privet rooms at the back. I could already hear people arguing…Chancellor Roderick again, he always seemed to be arguing with people.

"have you gone completely mad?" the angered shouts of the man in question echoed through the hall.

"I do not believe she is guilty." Another voice joined him: Cassandra. She was actually defending me. she sounded just as angry as the Chancellor, though he more indignant.

"the prisoner Failed, Seeker." He reminded her. "the Breach is still in the sky. For all you know, she intended it this way." He implored her. His paranoid lies hissing past the door to the room containing their argument. Was I meant to be hearing this?

"I do not believe that." Cassandra said again, if anything more angrily. It was nice not to have it directed at me.

"that is not for you to decide. Your duty is to serve the chantry." Chancellor Roderick was not backing down either. The argument was not really going anywhere, the same as how the one at the Forward camp had been going in circles.

"my duty is to serve the principles in which the chantry was founded, Chancellor. As is yours." She added darkly. That was it. I had heard enough. Though maybe if I was to leave it any longer the Seeker may draw her sword on the man, that would have been worthy of witnessing. Yet I couldn't just stand idly around while other decided my fate. I was at least going to have a say in it. I opened the door a little too forcefully than I had planned. The door slamming back onto the very solid chantry wall behind it. I walked into the door, trying to seemed as if this had been my plan all along. The Chancellor jumped back from the door, eyes fixed on the intruder.

"Chain her!" he commanded without skipping a beat. "I want her prepared for travel to the capital for trial." He ordered the guards which were standing just in the room. They looked like templars, they certainly had the strong weighted armour of those of the templar order. I didn't think I had a fight in me at this point. If they were going to try arresting me, running would be the only option.

"disregard that. And leave us." Cassandra sternly told the guards, glaring back to the Chancellor.

"you walk a dangerous line Seeker." He warned her, his back arched as if he was a cat, hissing in defense. The guards obeyed Cassandra. I let out a long sigh. I guessed that Cassandra was the only the soldiers would be following, she certainly was the more frightening.

"the breach is stable, but still a threat I will not ignore." Cassandra rounded on the Chancellor. They stood against each other. I stood to the side, there was a lot of tension in the room. Liliana was the only one not looking at the two butting heads in the middle of the room. Her piercing eye were instead, looking straight at me. I felt myself squirming under her gaze. Why? Was this all because I was still on the defense? The Chancellor certainly believed so. I had to think just how much sway he had, would he be the reason for my execution?

"so, I'm still a suspect?" my own thoughts came spilling form my mouth. I was unable to stop them anymore. this was so unfair. "even after what I, we just did." I pointed past the door, out towards the breach. "I did everything I could to close the breach. It almost killed me." I hissed moving closer to Rodrick. It became apparent to me now that I didn't have my daggers on me. I wasn't even wearing my armor. If I had to I would have to begin beating this idiot with my bear hands if I was going to hear just how he wanted me dead anymore. he lent in closer, confident in the fact that I had no weapons. That I was near death three days ago. That I probably looked weak and foolish.

"you absolutely are." Roderick seethed at me. his words hurt me more than had I expected. I wanted to hit him. To run away. I needed to do something.

"no. she is not." Cassandra barked. I looked back to her, she was fighting for me. immediately the warmth I felt for this woman began to grow. I stared at her, unspoken words of gratitude I hoped translated in my all too passive look would reach the warrior.

"someone was behind the explosion at the conclave." Liliana interrupted the near tender moment. She was now fixing her own pricing look at the Chancellor. "someone most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others…or have allies who yet live." She moved closer to the man, she was not letting his accusations slip anymore. she wanted answers as much as anyone, possibly more than anyone else. I had heard just how close she was to the Divine. As I was seeming less and less like her murderer she was weeding out others.

" _I_ am I suspect?" Roderick stumbled away from the spy, now scared of the two women rounding on him.

"you and many others." Liliana confirmed. The Chancellor didn't seem too fond of being on the other end of these accusations. He threw a trampling hand out to me.

"but not the prisoner?" he was glaring, I had never seen him with an expression which was not an angry squinted grimace.

"I heard voices in the temple." Cassandra was once more the one to come to my aid. "the Divine called for her help."

"so, her survival? That thing on her hand? All a coincidence?" he desperately began to gesture at me. his eyes bulging, his speech beginning to shake and waver as his arguments failed.

"providence. The maker sent her to us in our darkest hour." Cassandra lifted her head, certain in these foolish words. I turned to her, my head nearly snapping from my neck in the speed I move. she couldn't have really believed that? Me of all people…she clearly had no idea just who her maker had supposedly send.

"are you serious?" I laughed, unable to control this response. "five minutes ago, you wanted me killed and now I'm your saviour?" I looking in her eyes, beseeching her to reconsider her stance on this.

"I was wrong." Cassandra was clear in her statement, not backing down form the ridicules idea that I was someone remotely blessed. "and maybe I still am." She didn't look like she believed that. "but no matter what you are-or what you believe, you were exactly what we needed when we needed it." She was so affirmed in her statement. It could have anyone else believe her, but not me. there was no way I was about to start marching around Haven all self-assured in the knowledge and comfort I was in some way "the makers chosen." I was not buying that.

"The breach remains, and your mark is still our only hope in closing it." Liliana added. That made more sense. I nodded biting my tongue. I was still a tool for them, a much needed one.

"this is not for you to decide." Chancellor Roderick repeated. We all looked back to him. I was ready to forget that he was even in the room. Cassandra moved to the back of the room, scooping up a heavy book in her arms only to slam it down onto the table in front of us.

"you know what this is, Chancellor." She prodded the book with a heavy finger. He had the same crest on its face that her and Liliana bore on their armours; the eye encircled in flames. "a writ form the divine, granting is the authority to act. As of this moment. I declare that inquisition reborn. We will close the breach. We will find those responsible and we will restore order." She moved her strong, still overly aggressive glare to the man who was shrinking away from the table. "with or without your approval." She added for good measure. The chancellor didn't reply. Instead he kept hunched over, moving away as quickly as he could. The door slammed behind him as he left us. For now, we had won. I was to keep my life.

"this is the Divines directive." Liliana joined us at the table. No longer hanging back in the shadows. "rebuild the inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos." She breathed out, relief pulling the corners of her mouth. But this shadow of a smile quickly fell away as she looked away from the book to Cassandra and myself. "we aren't ready. We have no leader. No numbers. And now no chantry support."

"but we have no choice." Cassandra bowed her head to these issues. "we must act now. With you at our side." She looked to me. she was so serious. I couldn't breathe, she was expecting me to…to what? Join this militia? To be trapped in this settlement only to be dragged out to throw my hand against a rift. What if I nearly died again closing one of those fucking things? I had seen and participated in the battle up in the temple. Cassandra had nearly died too. This was going to be all kinds of dangerous.

"and if I refuse?" I asked quickly. Looking to the woman plainly. I could see that Cassandra was not expecting this.

"you can go if you want." Liliana said coolly. I snorted.

"horse shit." I barked. "You said it yourself. This mark." I raised my hand, it was still glowing a strongly as it had before the mess near the breach. "it's your only hope? That was what you called it." I dropped my hand still looking at its creepy sparks fly form it. "just what was I expecting? What were you expecting? For me to skip around after you, play the obedient tool. A nice docile child to help fight all this crap." I spat. I was bitter. Everything was so fucked up. I had covered this. I was constantly shitting myself, fooling myself into believing I could leave. To think that the Left hand of the divine would have just let me go. That was a lode of bullocks.

"there are still those who believe you are guilty." Cassandra confirmed my fears. "you can leave, but that won't clear your name. here, you'll have our protection. You can carry on proving your innocents." She was just as ridged as she had been while talking to the Chancellor. Attacking my doubts head on. I swallowed. They were going to make walking away difficult. Though I didn't for a moment believe that I would be allowed to leave this settlement.

"so…" I sighed. I was having more and more options taken away from me here. "what is the inquisition of old exactly?" I looked up to them. they were not about to throw me out. I might a well get as much information as I could before making my decision.

"it preceded the chantry. People who banded together to restore order in a world gone mad." Liliana began, her eyes alight with a hope which I had not seen before.  
"after they laid down their banner and formed the templar order." Cassandra carried on. "but the templars have lost their way. We need those who can do what must be done. Unite Under a single banner once more." She told me. eyes never once wavering. The way how they both looked, so clear and decisive. It was a little unnerving…though convincing. Maybe this was going to be the path which would change the world…maybe even for the better. Though my mind was still unsure. There were many unknowns. And there were still a lot of issues which were intertwined with making a choice to form such a group.

"in other words…" I tried to pick out my words carefully. "you're trying to start a holy war?" I said slowly. "I mean, battling with the chantry is already. I can't see this not ruffling as many feathers back in the capital. And then you're involving me, as you said there are many people out there who think I'm some divine killer." Cassandra winced as I said this. "I read some of my doctor's notes. Not even the locals are all on our side."

"we are already at war." Cassandra stopped me. "you are already involved. It's mark is upon you." She cast a glance to my hand. I held it up. Inspecting the light again. She had a point. No one was going to let something like a glowing hand pass. It was going to at the very least gonna make a lot of questions. "as to whether the war is holy…that depends on what we discover." She finished, at least she was being straight with me. not any definite answer…but it was the best I could hope for at this point in time. They were still waiting on my answer. Was I really going to do this? I stared down at the book. I didn't know if I would actually be any help. There was too much that would be in the way from the very start.

"I want to help…" I finally said. This was a big deal. Far bigger than myself. that was what I had told myself three days ago after all. and the issue had yet to be resolved. "I mean, if your trying to restore order." I added. That was all I had to care about. To make sure no one was out to kill me after all this.

"that's the plan." Liliana confirmed

"help us fix this before it is too late." Cassandra put her hand on the book. Liliana's joining hers. This was an oath. One to be taken with the up most severity. I swallowed heavily placing my hand over theirs. This was it. I was part of a bloody inquisition.

That night the people of Haven celebrate. I guess that they were taking the victories where they could find them. though I couldn't settle, I wasn't really in the party mood. No matter where I went within Haven I could hear the talk of what everyone was beginning to expect of me. A person they knew as "the Herald of Andraste".

"why did Lady Cassandra have her in chains? I thought seekers knew everything?" I voice in Havens only tavern was speaking loudly. I was sitting in a corner nursing a large tankard of something, it didn't matter what it was it was giving to me "on the house".

"it's complicated. We were all frightened after the explosion at the conclave." A woman talking to the drunk told him in a scolding tone. They were sat at the bar, they were all jovially chattering. And it was true what the elf had told me. I seemed to be all they were all talking about.

"it isn't complicated. Andraste herself blessed her." The drunk raised their own tankard, the warm liquor spilling over the rim of the vessel as they almost fell backwards. I didn't want to sit in there listening about myself. and certainly, not about things which weren't true. I all but ran form the tavern, exiting from the back door. Yet this was not enough to escape they watchful eyes of the people of Haven. No sooner had a pulled myself into the brisk air of the world beyond the tavern were there a gaggle of more villagers heading into the warmth of the tavern.

"that's her, she stopped the Breach form getting nay bigger." One muttered as they passed.

"I heard she was supposed to close it entirely." Another remarked, they were speaking behind their hands, as if this meant that I couldn't hear them.

"still, it's more than anyone else had don't. Demons would have had up otherwise." The first slapped her friend playfully. Another one of that party perked up, wrapping their hand around the first.

"she can seal those though, the herald of Andraste!" they howled up to the air. They began to cheer. I wanted to vomit.

"still a lot of Rifts in the sky." The one who had argued with the first stated. She folded her arms across her chest as they all began to filter into the tavern. They closer the door behind them, concealing their talk to the noise of the others celebrating. I was so done with celebrating. i began to walk back to my quarters. The hut that I had woken in. only I would have to pass many more of the celebrating idiots to reach my sanctuary.

"walk safely, Herald of Andraste!" a booming cheer followed me.

"good luck sealing those rifts!" another called out to me. I was done. No more.

I stormed past the tavern. The night air was cooling my flushed face. I could have done with a bucket of ice water to dunk my head into. That would have done the job. It would have felt to refreshing, soothing, sobering.

"kid! Hey kid!" a familiar tome was trying to get my attention. I groaned, I guess there was no avoiding everyone I opened my eyes to the world again, lowering my head to a bomb-fire before the tavern. Varric was waving me over. Thankfully he was alone. No one else wanted to be camped out in the cold.

"Varric." I greeted him approaching the warmth of the fire. He was sat down beside the fire. The light burning up against his face.

"I'm glad I caught you." He announced as I knelt in front of the fire with him. I felt heavily, landing with more of a flop than I had intended. I had drunk more than I thought. "I would have thought that you wold be busy celebrating your quick recovery." He was taking a long swig from a flask he produced from his red tunic. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not really in the party mood." I admitted, he offered the flaks to me. I shook my head, my eyes transfixed on the flames. No more drink. After this I was going straight to bed. Nothing could stop me. Varric clearly had something on his mind. he kept looking at me, almost nervously.

"I never caught your name kid." he spat out after a good solid minuet of staring into the fire. I raised my brow tilting my head to him. No, I hadn't told anyone my name. "asked around, no one seems to know you. It's like you just appeared out of nowhere." He continued. I shrugged.

"that would make sense. I've never seen any of these people either." I turned slightly, looking back to him. "Evelyn. Evelyn…you know…I've never had to give anything more than just that before." I sighed. Varric was looking curious now. I guess I had already divulged this much. "I'm, was…am an orphan." I explained. "one of many after some blight years ago. Don't remember much of it though. Don't remember much of what life was like before. But I guess, I think my name was Trevell." The name flowed from my lips. I hadn't heard that name in such a long time. I smiled, remembering the warmth behind it…warmth…that was strange. it had long since belonged to me. I had abandoned it, or was it taken from me. "I just go by Evelyn now." I finished. It was silly. To bring up a name that I didn't even use anymore. I hadn't been that person in a long time. I wasn't going to start bringing up ancient history.

"…that name's familiar." Varric however clearly thought otherwise. I raised my hand to him.

"no. I'm just Evelyn. If I wanted to find my past, I will. Or I would have already." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it." And this seemed to do the trick. He didn't ask anything more on the matter.

"so…now that Cassandras out of ear, are you doing alright?" he asked. he was back at staring at the fire. His worried eyes a little cautious about looking back at me. "you've gone from Thadas's most wanted criminal to joining the army of the faithful. Most people would have spread that out over one day." He looked back at me, seeing as I was openly watching him. I clearly my throat.

"I-I'm fine." I coughed. "really, I mean…" he was eyeing me, he didn't believe this. "a lot of people died up there." I blurted out. no, I was not about to lose it now, I collected myself. "I'm just glad to be alive after all that." I ended up saying. I was a mess, what was doing?

"yeah, I still can't believe you survived Cassandra. You're lucky you were out cold for most of her rage." Varric laughed a little. I didn't join. I couldn't bring myself to laugh after all this. I felt drained. Still, I put a smile on my face. I didn't want this guy to worry about me anymore than I had already made him.

"yeah, guess I got off easy." I Shuffled closer to the fire, warming my hands in its heat. The green light beaming from my palm stained the oranges and reds of the fire in front of me. I had almost for gotten about my palm. The green of the light mark was too similar to that of the breach, the rifts. I quickly let my hand drop, sitting on it as if this would get rid of it. I would be so lucky.

"for days now, we've been staring at the breach." Varric was speaking again, he wasn't just about to ignore what I had just done. "watching demons and maker-knows-what fall out of it." He shook his head. clearly this was really weighing on him, just as it was everyone else. "bad for moral would be an understatement. I've written enough tragedies to see where this was going." He carried on. He was looking at me, though I could have sword he was really looking past me. the way he spoke, we were all hurting. The drinking and celebrating of everyone in Haven. It was possible that everyone needed this. But not for a moment was a ready to believe that there was enough drink in all of Thadas to get rid of all our problems. "Heroes are everywhere. But a hole in the sky? That's beyond heroes. We're going to need a miracle." He took a long drink from his flask again. I couldn't have agreed more with him. He looked back to me, he looked the most serious I had ever seen him (not that I had known him all that long) "kid- Evelyn- you don't have to be a hero." I snorted as he finished.

"but I do." I declared, holding my head higher. "everyone is calling me the Herald!" I shouted. A few more cheers called out from the tavern. I stopped myself from saying more, it would just be even more bitter. Even more twisted.

"you know, it's insane to think anyone could have stepped out of the fade and survived. I can see why they're calling you the herald." Varric gave his best attempt to comfort me.

"It was pure luck that I escaped. I can't really remember what happened in there either. It was just…fortune, or something." I mumbled.  
"good luck or bad?" he asked. though I had a feeling he wasn't really looking for an answer. "I recommend running the first change you get." He said, again, his tone was oddly serious. "I mean with luck like yours…" he carried on, but that hadn't taken away what he had just said.

"don't tempt me." I swallowed hard. This was too strange. "I want to." I said, airing it out from my mind. I got to my feet. Leaving the convocation at that.

I spelt like a rock. I wouldn't have been surprised to have been told that I had actually spelt for a further three more days. But I didn't I woke first thing in the morning, just like I usually would. The sun had barely risen and yet Haven was a buzz with more activity. before the festivities, the other day Cassandra had advised that I made a stop at the Apothecary's place. Just to check that I was fix for work. I had chosen the morning to actually follow through with this. I had in a bad mood the other day, a slump. I just wanted to pity myself. I couldn't keep doing that. This was a new day, I was at least going to try and make the most of it and my new situation. The door to the apothecaries was open, there were already people in there, arguing about supplies. But, just like most convocations I happened upon, it stopped as they saw me approach.

"look who's back from the dead, again." The man facing me announced. I frowned staring at him.

"we've met?" I cleared my throat. I was feeling much better than I had the day before. My strength really coming back quickly. I would be ready to kick demon ass given another day.

"I'd be surprised if you did. You weren't particularly coherent. Someone had to patch you up after you staggered out of maker knows where. So, you're welcome." He nodded curtly at me.

"oh, I didn't realise." I muttered, a little embarrassed, this would have been the doctor. "thank you." I tilted my head to him. He literally saved my skin.

"yeah…well you can pay me back by fixing the world." He finished, possibly taken aback by my thanks. I didn't say anything in return. "so, Miss Herald. How can I help you today?" I just got a simple check-up. I managed to hear him tell me that I was fit as a fiddle before I broke out of the hut. The most he spoke the most I felt as if I was suffocating. The fumes from the various potions getting back at the back of my throat. I needed to be outside, I was a lot more comfortable there at least.

I was not the only one standing outside of the Apothecary's hut. Another familiar face was standing there, looking out past the safely of Haven's walls towards the breach. It was still there. Though it had settled, it wasn't anywhere near as lethal or angry looking. But I had to think of how long this would last? The man standing so pensively before me was none other than the mage who had looked after me before. Maybe I should thank him to? No doubt he had some hand in my recovery this time round as well.

"Solace." I Called out, my words already free from my mouth before I could hold myself back. He turned to me, almost as if he expected me.

"the chosen of Andraste, a blessed hero to save us all." he declared loudly as I moved closer. He was surly taking the piss. I groaned shaking my head.

"sounds dashing." I rolled my eyes. "should I be riding a shining stead?" Solace smiled back at me.

"I would suggest a Griffin, sadly they are all extinct." He lost his smile. "joke as you will, posturing is necessary." He didn't really look as if he believed that. And besides, he had other matters on his mind. the way he was staring at the Breach. He didn't really want to plan how self-import we were going to be, jokingly or not. "I've journeyed deep into the fade in ancient ruins and battle fields to see the dreams of lost cavillations." He began to bring his attention over to the breach again, though he was trying hard not to lose eye contact with me. "I've watched as host spirits clash to re-enact the bloody past in ancient wars both famous and forgotten. Every great war has its heroes. i'm just curious what kind you'll be." He finished. I didn't know just how to reply. He was eloquent, patient. Even when we were fighting up to the breach this had been the case.

"you study ancient ruins?" I asked, as if to deflect his question. I didn't want to think that I was a hero. Varric had mentioned it too. About being a hero, and his warning was clear. Heroes die in this story. "what do you mean ruins and battle fields?" I elaborated. Solace seemed happy enough to explain.

"any buildings strengthened to withstand the rigors of time has a history. Every battle field steeped in death. Both attract spirits. They press against the vail. Weakening the barrier between our worlds. When I dream in such places. I do deep into the fade. I can find memories no other living being has ever seen." He told me, eager to explain more. I could tell he was holding back. It sounded amazing, to escape into other lives, dreams detached from one's own troubles. Though it really was amazing for more reasons than that.

"how can you sleep in such places?" I asked, he had ticked my own curiosity. "you actually manage to get to sleep in ancient ruins? Isn't that dangerous?" he laughed a little.

"I do set wards. And if I leave food out for the giant spiders, they're usually content to live and let live." He shrugged.

"that's pretty damn impressive." I noted. "I've never heard of anyone going so far into the fade." I blinked, a little surprised. To think someone else had been into the fade, and to think he was being so casual about it too. It was calming me a little to my situation.  
"thank you. It's not a common field of study, for obvious reasons. Not so flashy as throwing fire or lightning." He scoffed. Clearly, he didn't ally him-self with other mages. Though as to it not being flashy. I couldn't have disagreed more. Not just because the breach was clearly…well I giant night light. But it was dangerous, different, even exciting. "the thrills of finding remnants of thousand-year-old dreams? I would not trade it for anything." He pursed smiling genteelly at me. "I will stay then. St least until the breach has been closed." He nodded.

"was that in doubt?" I asked, a little worried now. Was one of my only allies here planning on skipping out on Haven, without me? that was not a comforting thought.

"I am an apostate surrounded by chantry forces in the middle of a mage rebellion. Cassandra has been accommodating, but you must understand my concerns." He looked saddened by this thought. I did understand. But I also understood just how Cassandra and her men would look after those who were useful, and an expert in the fade and rifts was more certainly useful.

"Cassandra will protect you." I said, trying to sound as assuring as I could. "She trusts you. She won't let anyone put you in a circle against your will." I said. And this last part seemed to have done the trick. It seemed, like me, he was afraid of getting trapped. Being forced into something he wanted no part of.

"thankyou. I appreciate the thought." He looked back to the breach. "now let us hope either the mages or the templars have the power to seal the breach." He said wistfully. I wasn't too sure what he meant. But he didn't look as if he wanted to talk anymore. S

o, I moved away. Moving away from him and the clusters of huts. I needed to get to training. I could anticipate that I would be getting in quite a lot of fights soon.

I was running around the walls of the settlement, trying to work up a sweat. I had been feeling weak for too long. I needed to move, to get my body moving to at the very least put my mind at rest. I didn't need or want to think for a while. I just wanted to do. To move. and yet it would seem that there were other things going on. Cassandra came to find me, I didn't know how long she had been watching me. but as I noticed her I stopped.

"hi." I panted stopping my laps.

"we need to talk." She beckoned for me to follow her as she made her way into the chantry. I wiped the swear from my brow entering the shadowed innards of the structure. Chantry's were always so cold. I matched my past to Cassandras, moving to walk beside her. I maybe should have allowed myself to rest a little more. I didn't know if my body was ready for more training. The doctor told me to take it easy for a few more days, especially anything which involved using my left arm. As someone who used two blades, I kind of needed moth of my arms. Though I could see his point. Even more, my hand was pulsing. Every now and then the light coming from the mark would spark and crackle. I flexed my fingers, shaking my hand as we walked. I just had to stop think about it.

"does it trouble you?" Cassandra asked. her eyes on my hand."

"it's fine." I breathed, moving my hand behind my back. I'd have to get a glove or something. It was going at attract too much attention at this rate.

"what's important is that your mark is stable. As is the breach." Cassandra told me. getting down to business rather quickly. "you've given us time. And Solace believes a second attempt might succeed- provided that the mark has more power. The same level of power used to open the breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by." She explained. I frowned…what did she mean? A second attempt at what? At closing the breach? I moved my hand away from my back looking at it. I didn't trust the strange light. Yet everyone else was putting so much faith in the fact that it worked once…kind of. It didn't complete the job.

"what harm could there be in powering up something we barely understand?" I said dryly.

"keep hold on to that humour." She tried to give me a smile. It failed. "come, we must meet with the others." She said reaching the other end of the chantry, opening the door to the meeting room, though now I suppose it would become the war room. Much from this room had been cleared out, save for the table which now only had a large map of the area on it, small stands scattered over it. There were also people in the room: the others that Cassandra had mentioned

"may I present commander Cullen, Leader of the inquisition's forces." Cassandra nodded to a man in a fury cape, it looked as if he was wearing a lion's mane. He was a handsome man, possibly the same age as Cassandra. His fair hair and dark eyes however were a lot softer than hers. He didn't seem as angry as she was, more approachable. Still, he maintained a ridged posture as he greeted me.

"such as they are." He remarked on the inquisitions forces. The men of whom he was in charge of. "we lost many soldiers in the valley, and I fear many more before this is through." He looked gravely at me. death, death and more death. This was going to be a cheery meeting. Cullen looked as if someone had just kicked him, the losses we suffered from the demons loose in the valley must have been even more costly than I gave it credit for.

"This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, out Ambassador and our chief diplomate." Cassandra moved to introduce the next new face around the table. An Orlesian woman who was charming pretty. Dark skin and hair all perfectly maintained. Her bright eyes settled on me. she was elaborately dressed, a dress which was clearly made of the finest materials in all of Haven (probably because none of it came from Haven). everything about her screamed of luxury and expense.

"I've hear much. It's a pleasure to meet you at last." She smiled. "I see the rumours of your age are correct." She noted, writing something with her quill on a clip board resting in her arms.

"is my age a problem?" I asked, getting more on the defence. She smiled sweetly at me.

"oh no, on the contrary." She chuckled. "in fact, a pure maidenly figure at the forefront of the inquisition may work in our favour. It will certainly place doubt on your murder charges." I winced at this. I was hoping to forget that I was still expected to sit through a trial.

"and of course, you know sister Liliana." Cassandra ended with the introduction to Liliana. She looked as she always had, though, she too looked as if she was ready to conduct business. These pleasantries were just a formality she maintained. It was as Solace had mentioned, _posturing is necessary._

"my position here involves a degree of…" Liliana pursed to search for words.

"she is our spymaster." Cassandra helped her out, bluntly putting an end of the job description.

"yes." Liliana glowered to her colleague. "tactfully put, Cassandra."

They were about to start bickering, I could practically see the sparks fly between them. but I spoke before them.

"this is nice and all…but why am I here?" I asked, it couldn't have just been for introductions. There was business to do.

"I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close the breach for good." Cassandra snapped out of her argumentized lull with Liliana.

"which means we mush approach the rebel mages for help." Liliana but in, far more insistent that I had previously seen her.

"and I disagree." Cullen retorted, standing firm and strongly against the slender woman. "the templars could serve just as well." Cassandra was in doubt of this however. Sighed before she continued. Clearly, they had been arguing over this before I had arrived.

"we need power Commander, enough _magic_ poured into that mark-"

"might destroy us all." Cullen cut Cassandra off. He looked to me, continuing to pitch his battle plan "templars could suppress the breach. Weaken it so-"

"pure speculation." Liliana rolled her eyes at the Commanders words she did not look overly impressed. Cullen was close to growling at the spymaster when he continued.

"I was a templar. I know what they are capable of." He insisted.

"unfortunately, neither group will even speak to us yet." Josephine finished all the arguments, writing more scrawled notes on her clipboard. "the chantry has denounced the inquisition- and you specifically." She pointed her quill over to me. this was nothing new. After all I had hear from Chancellor Roderick this was all that I had been expecting.

"that didn't take long." I felt like laughing. It was surly too much wishful thinking to start believing that we were to miraculously gain much more support overnight.

"shouldn't they be arguing over who'd going to become Divine?" Cullen put in, another key point about these perverse politics. The world was falling apart and people were going to be posturing about positions and titles.

"some are calling you the "herald of Andraste." Josephine told me. brushing over Cullen's remark. I didn't need to be reminded. It was a silly little nickname. If it didn't really stay too far from Haven that was the best I could have hopped for…the now that I was boing told this by out Ambassador I was taking it that this worry was far too late. "that frightens the Chantry." Josephine finished, and my own fears were confirmed. I was going to have religious nuts hounding for my head. "the remaining Clerics have declared it blasphemy, and we heretics for harboring you."

"Chancellor Roderick's doing no doubt." Cassandra spat at the name. I was glad that we were not openly displaying our hatred for the turd.

"it limits our options. Approaching the mages or the templars for help is currently out of the question." The Ambassador ended this statement with a flourish from her quill. Just how was she talking and writing at the same time? It felt as if the whole room deflated at this report. We would have to do a lot of leg work just to get up to square one, or so it would seem.

I myself had a few concerns away from the issue about who we were going to side with. The whole Herald notion. It was disturbing me. the more I heard it the more I wanted to punch someone in the face.

"just how am I the Herald of Andraste?" I asked to the room at large, waiting for answers. This couldn't have been a thing that people came up with overnight. you don't just become a Herald.

"people saw what you did at the temple. How you stopped the breach from growing." Cassandra was the one to take the stand. "they have also heard about the woman seen in the rift when we first found you. They believe that was Andraste." Cassandra looked a little sympathetic to my obvious discomfort in the matter.

"even if we tried to stop that view from spreading-" Liliana moved to try and lessen my worry as well. A move of warmth that I had not predicted form her.

"which we have not." Cassandra folded her arms. Looking accusingly at Liliana. Bringing up the fact that there was attempt to even try and curb the rumour.

"the point is, everyone is talking about you." Liliana turned her impatient glare form Cassandra to look at me, the light in her eye she had displayed while talking about the inquisition was briefly in them now.

"it's quite the title, isn't it?" Cullen laughed, amused by the absurdity for sure. "how do you feel about it?" he asked. there was so much that I didn't like about this title. I had a list, a long one too. The pressure that it carried just being one of many reasons I wasn't having just the best time in Haven. I wasn't a religious person, never will be. Even if Andraste had personally kicked my sorry ass out of the rift, my stand point was not about to change. There were even more superficial reasons behind it- _Herald_ it was such a stuffy name. made me sound so much older, made people expect to see an old man in dusty robes emerge from the wood work. But I just shrugged at Cullen, these guys didn't need to know about this. My objections would just give them all reason to panic about all the chaos around them. there was a lot going on. I was barely dipping my toes into all the politics and tantrums of the mages and templars and Chantry and I was getting a killer headache.

"I don't know how I should feel." I ended up saying. This wasn't wrong…I just could have elaborated, unloading so much shit they would have wished that they had left me at the breach.

"the chantry has decided for you, it seems." Cullen reminded me. yes. I was to be shocked and appalled. That was the normal response, and that feeling was in there. It was idea 24 on my current lift as just what I should feel about all this shit.

"people are desperate for a sign of hope. For some you're that sign." Liliana told me. a little ray of hope brought into the discussion.

"for others, a symbol of Everything that's gone wrong." Josephine combated this account. There was a lot going on, going wrong. I stared down at my hand, the glow still disturbing me. I could see how it disturbs so many others too.

"so, all this is just made worse because I'm here?" I asked looking back up to my team at the table. I laughed a little "a false herald, a murderous heretic? No one's going to be happy to see this." I shook my hand around a little. I groaned. "just what can I actually do? I'll just mess anything up if you're planning on send me in to negotiations."

"there is something you can do." Liliana stopped me before I could derail "a chantry Cleric by the name of mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She is not far and known those involved far better than I. her assistance could be invaluable." She told me. I nodded, mulling this idea over. Speak to a mother…no peace talks or aggression…it surly couldn't hurt…well it might. But I was already head over heels in this shit now.

"look for other opportunities to Expand the inquisitions influence while you're there." Cullen added. As if it was already agreed that I would be heading out of Haven.

"we need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley. And you're better suited than anyone to recruit them." Josephine was already noting this on her clip board. (well I couldn't tell what she was righting, but I just knew).

"in the meantime, let's think of other options. I won't leave all this to the Herald." Cassandra noted as if this was meeting adjourned.

And that was that. The mission debrief was given. I was to find and seek out this mother in a place called the Hinterlands. The team at the War room table where already casually calling me the Herald. I wondered if they even knew my real name. not that it mater much now. I was gathering names now. Murder, Herald, Heretic- I was going to lose track of them all.


End file.
